An Invisible Girl
by lightfeatherxa
Summary: Isabella Swan is a young nurse living in New York City. She enjoys taking care of older people who are alone or whose relatives are too busy to keep them company in their last years. Everything goes normally in her life until she witnesses a homicide. She can identify the killer and now he's after her. Full Summary inside. AH
1. Chapter 1

**Full Summary**

Isabella Swan is a young nurse living in New York City. She enjoys taking care of older people who are alone or whose relatives are too busy to keep them company in their last years. Everything goes normally in her life until she witnesses a homicide. She can identify the killer and now he's after her. She'll enter the Witness Program Protection until the police catch the man. She can't trust anybody. She is alone, being someone new and completely terrified knowing is a man out there searching heaven and earth to find her and kill her. Being Melanie Wilcox she meets an attractive, attentive, interesting man who is as smitten by her as she is by him. The only problem is that she can't tell him anything, she can't be herself, she's not even sure she can trust him, after all everything and everybody seems to be a threat, and about one thing she is completely sure, she is not going to let anybody kill her.

**All belongs to S.M. Of-fucking-course. :)**

**Hey you guys this is my second story. It's kind of a new thing for me to write -suspense- please...don't be too harsh. Hope you like it and if you do i hope you let me know that. **

**This isn't beta'd by anybody. If anyone would like to be my beta, please as in pleasssse lemme know. thanks. **

**Xx!**

**First Chapter**

Bella was quite happy that day. She had found a nickel on the street, a handsome man said hi to her when she passed next to him and she was going to meet his sister Angela and her beautiful family for dinner. She was craving some time with her little niece Claire, her birthday was coming soon and Claire was going to talk all about how she wanted her party to be and the presents she was eager to get. It was her mission to get all this information to throw an amazing surprise party with Angela's help. She was also really excited to hear all about her nephew Dalton tryouts at the little soccer league. He trained really hard with Ben – Angela's husband – in the backyard for quite a long time.

She was twenty four, single and completely alone in the dating department. There was not even a man at sight for her. She knew about one particular person who was interested in her, but she could not be any less attracted to him. His name was Jacob Black and was Ben's best friend. He was tall, muscular, with raven hair and deep, scaring brown eyes. He had one of that toothpaste commercial's smile and quite a reputation behind his back. She never quite grew fond of him. Not because of his history with half the upper east side of Manhattan but because he was a daddy's boys playing rich with his older man's money and because she knew the things people talked about him weren't precisely good. He was dangerous, careless and dominant. She didn't want a man like that. She preferred a loving man who wanted to have a family and who enjoyed summer holidays at Cape Cod and Friday dinner nights at her sister's with the kids. She wanted someone simple, caring and with the feet on the ground. With an honoring job and the prospects of a future as a daddy. Jacob Black was definitely not like that.

She was heading to Mrs. Denali's pent house, a seventy eight years old sweet woman with a tragic story. She had lost her husband with only two years of being married when he was killed in the war, and she had lost _both_ her daughter _and_ her granddaughter. She was completely alone and Isabella enjoyed deeply spending time with her. It was a very intelligent woman who craved the company of someone willing to listen to her, and Bella was definitely a listener. She had lost her dad two years ago, but she still could not get over it. Charlie was her best friend, he got her. He taught her all about jazz music and the beautiful paints hanging in all the New York museums. He was a retired NYPD officer that could never gave up smoking and that came back to bit him in the ass. So Bella understood Mrs. Denali's pain and she enjoyed remembering old stuff with her. It brought all the good moments of her life back.

Bella reached the entrance of the fancy building in the 70 east and waited for Seth to open her the door. He was a young man who moved from a small town to the big city trying to make it big. He was still working as a doorman but Mrs. Denali had told her that Demetri Vladimir a young Russian businessman who was the owner of the hottest hotels in town had talked to Seth the other day an discussed the chance of giving him an opportunity to learn about the business. Seth was a bright and lovable young man; she had no doubt good things awaited for him.

"Good afternoon Bella" he said to her when she walked through the door. He gave her a big happy smile that Isabella returned.

"Good afternoon to you Seth how was your day?" she asked actually interested. Seth always had the best stories to tell. When her days were bad hearing those stories were the only thing that actually made her smile.

"It was pretty boring. Nothing interesting happened except that Jennifer Lopez passed walking and flashed me a flirty smile" Bella could not help but laugh loudly at that.

"She did?" She asked completely amused with Seth's story.

"Yes, let me tell you, now that she is done with that ballad singer dude she is lowering her target and I'm young enough for her to like me. But I don't think she is quite my type" I'm sure she is not Bella laughed to herself.

"Well, I'm glad you had fun flirting with J-Lo, Seth" Isabella said punching him slightly on his shoulder. He smiled widely again. "Was everything okay with Mrs. Denali?" Seth nodded and Bella took that as a queue to leave. She waved her hand a little and kept walking towards the elevators. She actually never liked elevators, but Mrs. Denali lived in the pent house and there was no other way to go up except using the damn elevators. She pressed the highest button and waited. A minute later she was walking inside the big apartment. The curtains were closed and it smelled a little bit like the windows hadn't been open for a long time. She sighed loudly and looked at the Victorian décor of the living room. There deep red couch, the navy blue Chelsea carpet with a symmetrical pattern, the wood wall panels and the lit up fireplace. It was beautiful; she never had enough of that apartment and always found herself mesmerized with all the crystalerie on the shelves.

"Mrs. Denali is me, Bella, I came to check on you" Bella said loudly before starting to walk towards the kitchen. She knew she was going to finds Mrs. Denali sitting there drinking chamomile tea and reading an old diary from his daughter Kate.

"Bella dear, I didn't expect you today" she said to Bella when she appeared at the kitchen's doorstep. She looked tired and Isabella knew she probably hadn't slept well last night that she didn't stay with her. Bella only stayed Mondays, Wednesdays and the weekends and last night was Thursday night. Mrs. Denali was dressed perfectly as always, her silver hair tied in a sophisticated bun, her soft make up bringing back all the beautiful features that made men go crazy when she was young. She was wearing brown suit pants, a long sleeved white blouse and a designer brown and gold jacket.

"I had a little bit of free time before dinner with my sister and I thought I could come by and say hi" Bella explained to her, although the truth was she was worried. Wednesday night, Mrs. Denali had an emotional meltdown and started to plead Bella to find the killer of her beloved granddaughter. Tanya Denali was a beautiful young woman who killed herself in a cabin during winter break with her friends. She poisoned herself in her bedroom and left a note to Mrs. Denali saying she was sorry. It had been months since that day and the poor woman still couldn't let it go. She was convinced her granddaughter didn't kill herself, that someone did. But the police reports were very sure it was a suicide.

"That's so considerate of you sweetie. Would you like a cup of tea?" Bella nodded and smiled at her. Before sitting at the table she walked to the living room and opened the big windows that gave a stunning view of Central Park. A warm breeze flew inside the apartment. Bella came back to the kitchen and took a seat in front of the tea cup Mrs. Denali had just filled for her. "How was your day Bella?" Mrs. Denali asked politely putting the diary of her daughter aside.

"It has been really good so far" she answered smiling.

"Have you met a man you may like?" Bella laughed a little and shook her head. Everybody insisted on her finding someone. Apparently she was a beautiful smart young woman who needed a loving man to her side who would make her happy. She wasn't precisely against the idea, but she was not going to settle with some random man just to not be alone. That was not like her.

"No although that would've been a great story for tonight's dinner. Mom would've been really happy with that" She said imagining the way her carefree, erratic loving mother would've hugged and kissed her on the cheek repeatedly saying it was finally time for her to meet someone.

"It's just you deserve someone sweetie, you are an amazing young woman. You take care of an old lady and make her feel alive" Mrs. Denali said pointing to herself. Bella's smile fell a little.

"You know how much I enjoy spending time with you Mrs. Denali. You just have to start to let go of some things and go out, you are still young enough to have fun with friends and go out to a nice restaurant a Friday night" Bella said although she was afraid she had overstep a little. Sometimes it was hard for her to realize she only worked for Mrs. Denali instead of just being there because she wanted to. If the woman decided she no longer wanted her service she would be just out of Mrs. Denali's life as fast as she was once in.

"I can't let things go Bella. I have to fight for my granddaughter. I'm sure someone killed Tanya, Bella, I am completely sure of it. She had no reason to kill herself, she was happy and she was ready to be a big star. Someone took her away from me and from everyone that loved her and I'm not going to rest in peace until I find her killer. I will not Bella" Isabella sighed loudly before taking Mrs. Denali's hand in hers and giving it a light squeeze. The moment she saw the tears welling up in Mrs. Denali's eyes she instantly regretted saying a word. "It's going to be seven months next week, sweetie. That's seven months of losing everybody" Bella felt a lump in her throat but swallowed it.

"Would like to go to the cemetery to say hi? I can come and take you" Bella offered and Mrs. Denali eyes instantly lit up. She gave Isabella a little smile and nodded.

"I would really appreciate that dear. If it's not too much to ask, maybe we can go to her apartment before so I can grab a picture of my Tanya to take her" Bella nodded instantly. She was going to ask for the day off at the agency. She was a nurse who worked in a private agency where older people hired someone to keep them company at night. Sometimes their relatives did that when the work was too much for them to manage to keep an eye on their parents or grandparents and still deal with all the working hours. Sometimes it was just ungrateful people who didn't want to deal with their older relatives just because they didn't. She hated those. Mrs. Denali had called herself asking for a young lady that kept her company at night. She said jokingly that it would be better if it was someone that enjoyed listening and that was the main reason they had assigned her Bella.

"Of course we can. It will be good, talking to her a little" Mrs. Denali nodded.

"Although I will not change my mind Bella. Someone murdered my little Tanya and I'm sure of it"

Bella was still extremely excited when she knocked on the door of her sister's house. It was a really big house located in New Jersey. They preferred the quiet life there to the crazy loud New York City life. Ben had a factory where they made all the slots machines for the casinos. It wasn't the brand that the big Las Vegas, Atlantic City casinos used but it was getting bigger and he was making quite some money with it. His best friend father's Billy Black was a huge business man in the hotel and casinos business and had let Ben know that he was interested in using his products. It was a huge deal and everybody in the family was really happy and excited for him.

"Hello there" Ben said with a big smile to Bella when he opened the door. He was wearing sweat pants and a white beater. That probably meant Dalton had made it into the team and they were still practicing.

"Hi Ben" Bella said smiling leaning in to give him a hug.

"Aunt Bella! Aunt Bella!" she heard the screaming of his nephew coming from the kitchen to the front door.

"Hey there little buddy!" she said excited to the gorgeous little boy that was hugging her legs. He had dark coppered hair like his dad, really intense green eyes and adorable dimples appeared on his face every time he smiled.

"Aunt Bella, guess what?!" Dalton said excited looking up at her. Bella was sure he had made it into the team, but she didn't want to spoil the fun and excitement of him telling her.

"I don't know buddy" she said waiting for his reaction. A huge grin appeared on his face before he started jumping on the spot.

"I made it into the team! The coach said I'm a natural. I'm a natural aunt Bella!" he screamed excited. Bella gave him a huge smile of her own and a bent a little to hug him tightly and kiss him on the cheek.

"That's incredible Dal, I'm really proud of you little man!" she said feeling her chest full of pride. They were not her kids, but it was like they were. She loved them like they were.

"Aunt Bella" she heard a timid voice appearing behind Dalton. There was the beautiful shy Claire. She looked exactly like Angela. It was the living image of her older sister when they were young.

"Claire not now, I'm talking to her" Dalton complained making Claire's lower lip tremble a little. Ben noticed this and sighed loudly before changing his face into the cool dad one.

"No, we have to take a shower David Beckham. Dinner is almost ready and we both stink. You can talk to Bella later" Dalton pouted a little but accepted that Ben was right. They probably had been hours outside playing and practicing.

"I'll be right back aunt Bella" Dalton said in a hurry before starting running towards the stairs. Ben sighed again. Isabella gave him a smile.

"Make yourself at home Bella, Ang and Rene are in the kitchen, Jake is coming over too" Bella nodded although she didn't like that news very much. Jacob was going to be at the dinner with them. He will probably try to make her accept going out with him, and she didn't want to. He was going to flirt with her all night not even caring a little her whole family was there. "Dalton, do not run on the stairs!" Ben shouted before going after his son. He was right about something both Dalton and he smelled.

"Can I talk to you now aunt Bella?" Claire's little voice filled the room. Bella nodded and bent herself to grab her and secure her at her side while both of them walked towards the kitchen.

"Of course you can talk to me sweetie" Bella said caressing the little girl's black hair. Claire smiled widely.

"Did you know that my birthday is coming soon? I'll be four" she said showing Bella four of her little fingers. Isabella nodded and gave a smile.

"Of course I know! I'm really excited" Bella said completely ecstatic.

"There you both are" Angela said extending her arms to hug her little sister. Bella accepted it and returned it. "How was your day sweetie?" Angela asked Bella before resuming chopping tomato.

"It was really good" Bella answered instantly and no she haven't met a man. That was not the reason. "Hello mom" she said hi to her mother that was concentrated in knitting a little pink cup to Claire for the winter that was coming over soon.

"Hello Bella, oh sweetie you look so skinny are you eating well?" Renee asked her daughter making Bella roll her eyes.

"Mom I saw you last week, my weigh is the exact same. I'm eating well I promise" Bella assured her. Renee smiled and nodded.

"You can't blame a mother for taking care of her youngest daughter"

"I'm not blaming you. I love you" Bella said to her knowing that that ended any discussion that could come up. Renee's chest filled with pride.

"I love you too, I love you both" She said back.

"I love you too mom" Angela said too.

"Do you love me too aunt Bella?" Claire asked making Bella returned the attention to her.

"Of course I love you. I love you very _very_ much" Isabella assured her shy little niece. "You were telling me about your birthday. How do you want your party to be?" Bella asked sitting on a chair with her little niece on her lap.

"I want a princesses' party" Claire said with a dreamy voice. Bella pretended to think a little before smiling at her little niece.

"Do you like princesses?" she asked knowing the answer. Claire loved princesses. She loved Disney love stories and fairytales, like every other three years old girl.

"Of course silly!" Claire giggled making Bella's smile grew bigger. "Everybody loves princesses. They have pretty hair and pretty dresses. They are kind and gentle. And they are really pretty"

"So you are princess then!" Bella exclaimed. Claire giggled once again and shook his little head.

"No I'm not! I'm not a princess aunt Bella" she corrected her.

"But you have pretty hair and you have pretty dresses" Bella said touching Claire's shiny black hair and her pink polka dots dress "you are kind and gentle and above all you are really _really _pretty. You have to be a princess" Claire's eyes lit up immediately before she jumped hurriedly from Bella's lap.

"Mom! Mom! I'm a princess. Mom! I'm a princess!" Claire squeaked excitedly at Angela gaining Bella a killer glance from her sister. She felt so blessed in that second. Her whole family was there and she could not feel anymore happy. The beautiful family her sister had started was the most important thing in her life and she lived to see Dalton and Claire smile. She lived for her mother's excitement and the way her eyes filled with tears every time Angela or she said that they loved her. Bella couldn't enjoy the scene much longer when the bell ranged and she knew it was Jacob Black. She took a deep breath and announced she was going to get the door.

"Good evening Jacob" Bella said with a polite smile when she saw him at the door. Jacob pretended to be surprised. He knew she was there most of Friday nights. So it wasn't precisely a huge surprise.

"Hello Bella, I didn't expect you here. Such a beautiful surprise" he murmured in her year before kissing her cheek. Bella felt the urge to rub her hand in the spot like trying to wipe away dirt. Instead she only smiled a little before closing the door. "It's so good to see you Bella. How have you been?" It's not your goddamn business she thought to herself instead she just shrugged a little.

"Same old same old" she answered lightly before starting to walk to the kitchen with Jacob following close from behind.

"Jake, it's good to see you!" Angela said excited giving Jacob a hug. Her sister, not like her, actually liked Jacob and in more than one occasion had suggested Bella she should give him a chance.

"It's good to see you too Angela. Hello Mrs. Swan" Jacob waved Renee Swan making this one take the eyes off of her knitting for a second. Renee returned the wave and concentrated back again in the little pink cup. "I was saying it was such a nice surprise to see Bella here. You look beautiful tonight" he said to Bella who mumbled a 'thanks'. If she was sure of something it was that she didn't precisely look beautiful that night. She was wearing a big grey sweater, black leggings and black ballerina flats. She had her hair in a messy ponytail and she barely had put make up that morning. Jacob was known for going out with beautiful models and blonde bombshells Broadway stars. Bella was quite sure she couldn't compare to that kind of women. She wasn't interested either; she didn't want to marry a movie star.

"Yes she does" Angela complied smiling at Bella who was the one who send the death glare that time. "How was your week Jake?" Ang asked to Jacob who was practically stripping Bella with his eyes. He's not even subtle Bella thought to herself feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Not really interesting. Just dealing with the business" He answered flashing Angela a big toothy grin that made Bella shiver. How can her sister not see the phoniness and the danger in those eyes? Bella asked to herself. It was so clear to her. Jacob Black was bad news. "Although I went to a new sushi restaurant in town. It was delicious. Do you like sushi Bella?" Isabella shook her head instantly.

"Not really, raw fish? What's to like?" She asked Jacob already knowing where this conversation was heading. She didn't want to say no to another one of his invitations. She just didn't want to listen to anything coming from his mouth.

"Yes, you are quite right there" Jacob said before a deep low laugh exploded from his throat and filled the room. Bella thought the air was suddenly chillier. "But I know you like Italian right? Maybe you'd accept going out with me to an amazing new Italian restaurant in the city. I'm sure you are going to love it" Bella obliged herself to smile a little.

"I'm sorry Jacob I'm really busy with work lately. I don't think I'm going to be free anytime soon" try never she thought to herself and smiled a little more. Jacob's eyes were filled with anger for a second. That was the one Bella was sure was the real one, the angry and dominant one. Not the funny sweet one. The anger was instantly replaced with kindness and he nodded slightly.

"Of course. That's something I quite admire about you. Your devotion for the things you like"

"You are right about that. I love my job" Bella agreed with him. "Ang would you like me to set the table?" she asked hoping she could get away from the kitchen for a minute. She could only bear some time with Jacob Black and she was reaching her limit.

"Oh yes sweetie. I'd really appreciate that" Angela smiled to her little sister before throwing some vegetables in a pot of boiling water.

"Can I help you aunt Bella?" Claire's shy voice filled in the room. Bella smiled big and genuinely for a change and nodded.

"Of course you can Claire Bear" Bella assured her. She was ready to start walking to the dining room when her cellphone started to ring. She took it from one of the pockets her sweater had at both sides and answered it without even checking the caller ID. "Hello"

"Bella, Bella dear are you there?" Isabella's ears were instantly filled with Mrs. Denali's desperate voice. Whatever was going on was not good.

"Mrs. Denali yes, it's me. What's happening?" Bella asked feeling how the worry invaded her fast. She genuinely cared for that woman.

"Bella I knew somebody killed my Tanya, I was sure of it Bella" Mrs. Denali cried on the other side of the line. Bella grabbed the cellphone tighter. What was the woman talking about? Was she having another nervous breakdown?

"Mrs. Denali, please, can you be more specific? What is going on? Where are you?" a deep desperate sob came from Mrs. Denali making a big lump appear in Bella's throat.

"I came to her apartment and I found a proof dear. Someone was threating her. Someone killed her. Here the phone has it all" Bella tried to understand things but Mrs. Denali wasn't making the best of senses. She knew it had to do with Tanya but Bella wasn't sure about the proof. She was quite sure Mrs. Denali was seeing sings of her granddaughter not killing herself everywhere.

"What phone? Mrs. Denali, please tell me where you are and I'm coming to get you okay?"

"I'm at Tanya's apartment Bella. I'm at Tanya's apartment with the proof that my baby girl didn't kill herself"

_**Thanks!**_

_**-Lightfeatherxa**_


	2. Chapter 2

**S.M. owns it all. **

**Thanks for your reviews/fav/follows on the last chapter. I have many chapter already written so i'll be uploading pretty soon, probably Sat/Sun. Okay. Hope you enjoy. **

**No beta. Again. **

**Xo!**

**Second Chapter**

It wasn't her first choice, she had been against it even, but at the same time she knew if she had spent time trying to get a cab, she'd still be on the way and not outside the building where Tanya's Denali apartment was.

"Thank you for the ride Jacob" Bella said hurriedly before getting out of the shiny black new BMW that probably Billy Black bought his son, because it was pretty well known that Jacob was basically nobody without his daddy's money.

"Bella, wait! Let me come with you" that was not even an option. Mrs. Denali was her responsibility and above all she was not going to submit the woman she so attached had grown to, to a man she could barely stand. Bella was almost certain that whatever Mrs. Denali had found was not a proof that Tanya didn't kill herself. It was probably something she needed to hold on to, so she could found a piece of mind and believe her granddaughter was happy in this world and not sad or lonely enough to find killing herself a valid option.

"Sorry Jacob, this is something that doesn't concern you. Thank you again for the ride, now please just leave. I'll talk to you later." She hated herself for saying those words, but at the same time she felt like she owed him. Maybe going to a nice Italian restaurant with Jacob was not as terrible as she thought. He only nodded and she took that as a key to leave. Her feet started moving at full speed towards the elevator, not even taking a second to acknowledge the doorman.

"Miss, you can't get in like that!" Bella heard the man spat at her, but it was not enough to stop her. The elevator was only on the first floor so in seconds she was riding it heading to the 17th floor. Her breathing was labored and she was certain her heart was going to jump off her chest in any minute, because of how fast it was beating.

By the moment she was standing outside Tanya's apartment she didn't even care to knock she just opened the door, getting angry at Mrs. Denali for not locking it behind her.

"Mrs. Denali. I'm here, it's Bella" there was no answer. She let her eyes wander through the living room. It was a big apartment with a modern décor. Black, white and red everywhere. There were some Broadway posters hanging on the walls. Above a black shiny table there were lots of pictures of Tanya with many well-known Hollywood stars. She recognized two of them with Irina too, her cousin. Mrs. Denali had shown her pictures of both of them from their childhood. They were both blond with piercing blue eyes, they were attached to the hip since Tanya, the younger one for two years, was born. "Mrs. Denali, where are you?" Bella asked again a little more loudly, but no answer reached her. She passed next to a red leather couch with white polka dots heading to the living room. She stood there making no move, no sound, anything… It wasn't until a minute later she heard what sounded like a sob coming from upstairs. Her feet started moving at whole speed once again. There on the floor was laying Mrs. Denali. A loud gasp escaped her mouth. The woman had her eyes closed, there was a small pool of blood behind her head, but Bella could hear little sobs escaping the woman's mouth. That, somehow, made her feel better; at least she was still alive and semi-conscious. Both Mrs. Denali's hands where holding onto something for dear life. Bella tried to take a better look at it and realized it was an old Blackberry.

"Tan…my tan…" Mrs. Denali murmured while crying quietly. Fuck! Bella thought to herself. She was scared she didn't know what to do. Without thinking her hands grabbed the cellphone from inside her sweater pockets and the she started dialing the hospital demanding an ambulance urgently.

"Mrs. Denali an ambulance is coming. Hold on please. It'll only be a minute, I promise" the words escaped Bella's mouth in a pleading tone. She felt like crying, maybe screaming but she had to stay put for Mrs. Denali. The woman needed her, later, when everything was fine again she could take a bath and relax and probably cry too.

While waiting she sat next to Mrs. Denali. She took the phone from the woman's hand and took them between hers, keeping the old Blackberry alongside with hers in her sweater pockets. She was never very religious, especially after her father died, but in that moment she found herself saying a silent prayer, asking for God's help and strength. Somehow she felt like she needed both.

"C'mon bitch, I'm paying you enough to make it worth it. Suck harder and better!" he screamed looking at the pair of shiny green eyes that belonged to a woman knelt in front of him. She was her favorite toy to play with when things didn't go the way he wanted. Sometimes he wondered how she hasn't run away from him. He wasn't particularly easy on her, he like it rough. He enjoyed beating her, fucking her so hard she would scream and not from desire and passion. He was so mad one night that he had smashed her against a wall and fucked her ass with no gentleness nor did he care when she cried and begged him to stop. He paid her so he was allowed to do whatever he wanted with her, or that was what he thought.

"I'm sorr-" He didn't let her finish when he stuck his cock back inside her mouth earning a gagging sound and a desperate fight to catch some air.

"Fuck you!" he shouted loud enough for everybody in the neighborhood to hear it. He took the blonde skinny girl hair with his hand and pull roughly making a loud cry escape the woman's mouth while she found herself back on her feet. "You are the most incompetent whore I've ever fucking met Heidi" the words came out in a hissing sound. She knew it was worst that way than when he shouted at her. It was like the calm before the storm and before she could even see it his fist crashed against her ribs.

"_noooo!_ Please I'm sorry" she cried and begged at the same time. She wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it. She still had bruises from the last time. "Let me do it better, I know what you like. Just let me d-" she couldn't finish before his left foot collide with her hip making her fell with a loud thump on the dark wood floor of the extremely expensive Pent-house.

"Let me what bitch? Fuck you? Suck you? What?!" he said his voice coolly right before his hand gripped Heidi's face with rage. His fingers were pressed on her cheeks and even though it felt like they were going to leave bruises she knew tomorrow there was not going to be a single mark there. He never marked her face or any other place clothes would not cover. "You were supposed to be doing that and instead you were making it all wrong. You, Heidi, you are a whore, right sweetheart?" his condescending tone gave her chills but she knew she couldn't run from there, she couldn't fight him, he was tall with big muscles, sadly that was the first thing that attracted her to him, and now she had to take all that, she had to answer him whenever he made a question otherwise he'd hit her harder.

"Yes" she answered trying not to sound too scared. She failed miserably, her tone was shaky and her voice came out a little too high.

"Yes what Heidi?" he asked as a third grade teacher, although this teacher was naked and fuming with rage. She never knew what was that made him so mad that he ended up calling her and if things went well, they would have sex, wild and rough sex all night, she would end completely exhausted but her muscles aching in a good way, and if things went bad he would just beat her, or fuck her without her consent, he would yell at her and leave her crying at her place lying in bed for the whole next day cause her body would ache so much she couldn't move.

"Yes, I'm a whore"

"Exactly, so…what do you do for a living?" he asked calmly again while walking from one side of the room the other concentrating on nothing but whatever was on his mind.

"I fuck" he laughed loudly. She could not help but think he sounded maniac. He clasped his hands in front of him and nodded with his head while looking at her with an edge on his eyes. He was high, she knew that, what she didn't think at first was that he was probably not on coke, but on some of that strong shit only a few people could buy because it was ridiculously expensive. He could afford it. He definitely could.

"Yes Hei, you do that. Now come here" she got up from the floor and came slowly towards him on the other side of the room. "Please…don't make me get mad. You know I hate to get rough on you" the only thing she did was nod swallowing the urge to cry that had come over her. "Now…can I fuck you baby?" he didn't wait for an answer before he pushed her back so she was making a 90º angle with her body in front of him. He hands trying desperately to grab the wall in front of her. She couldn't even get ready for it when his cock filled her ass making she feel like her body was being torn apart. "_yesssss _baby, yes" he cheered happily. "Do you like it Hei?" she tried to nod. "C'mon, say it out loud for me" he requested before smashing inside of her one more time, making a little sob escaped Heidi's lips.

"Yes, I like it" she managed to say out loud.

"Say it" he requested on more time and she knew what he meant.

"Yes, I like it _Jake_"

"Miss Swan?" a deep voice came from behind Bella where she was standing at the hospital corridor. The ambulance only took a couple of minutes before arriving to Tanya Denali's apartment and taking Mrs. Denali with them. Bella had insisted to go with her but they had denied her saying they may need to proceed while taking her there. Bella didn't think it twice and took a cab the second the ambulance left towards the hospital.

"Yes, that's me!" she said extremely anxious. They hadn't told her anything since she had arrived.

"First of all I have to tell you Mrs. Denali is fine" she felt a heavy feeling left her chest and suddenly she could breathe easily again. "She hit her head on the floor when she passed away, and she also twisted her ankle, but nothing else. She'll need to rest for at least a week. We are going to have her here for the night and tomorrow we'll make some tests to make sure she is not bleeding internally and if everything comes out right we'll release her under the promise of her staying in bed all day" Isabella nodded immediately.

"Of course, I'll make sure of that. Can I ask you something?" the dark haired man with chocolate eyes and the name Eleazar sawed right where her heart was, nodded.

"Why did she pass out?"

"She probably found herself feeling too many emotions at the same time. She's an old woman Miss Swan; she can't handle that kind of overwhelming feelings. In a way of saying stop her body probably shut down making her fall like that. It was a luck you found her, otherwise I would not be telling you she can go home tomorrow" Bella only nodded and tried to erase that possibility from her mind. "You should go get some sleep now" There was no way in hell she was going to leave that hospital.

"I'd rather stay" was all she said. Dr. Eleazar nodded.

"Well, Mrs. Denali is awake and she will be for a couple of minutes, you can go and say hi if you want" Bella started walking towards Mrs. Denali's room without thinking it twice. "Mrs. Swan" called Dr. Eleazar she turned to find a little smile on his face "be brief" the words came as an order but his eyes showed he was not as strict as he should be. She only nodded one more time and walked without turning back again.

"Mrs. Denali?" Bella asked when she entered the small white room. It only had a bed and a plastic chair next to it. Many machined were connected to the woman lying on the bed. Mrs. Denali looked tired and sad, but a little smiled spread across her face when her eyes connected with Isabella.

"Bella, dear, it's so good to see you" Bella walked the space between the door and the bed and kissed softly Mrs. Denali's forehead. Something was telling her she was not going to have many more chances to do that. "I have to thank you so much Bella. Tonight you saved me"

"Shush" Bella managed to say without crying. "I'm just happy you are okay Mrs. Denali" the woman nodded slowly.

"Bella, I can't find the phone. I asked the doctors and them say there was no phone. I have to find it" Mrs. Denali said getting nervous again.

"Calm down please" Bella asked fearing the woman might not feel well again. "I got it" she said showing the old Blackberry to Mrs. Denali.

"Oh Bella, thank god. I told you Tanya didn't kill herself. Look at the phone, it's all there. She was murdered Bella" She wasn't so sure what to do but decided it was better to comply. She turned the phone on surprised with Mrs. Denali. She had to charge the battery to make it work again; otherwise it would've never turned on. The main menu greeted her. There was no picture, just a black background.

"Where do I go?" she asked not knowing what to do.

"Go to the text messages" once again Bella complied. The phone showed there were only two texts. Both were from a private number. Convenient she thought sarcastically to herself. She opened the first one finding only two words.

_Do it._

The reply had been

_I'm trying._

She agreed it was weird, and a little bit shady, but it didn't prove anything. She opened the second one.

_C'mon hun._

And the reply had been

_I'm trying : (_

…again. The last message was a little stranger. If it was someone blackmailing Tanya or threatening, she would never dare to send a sad smiley face. That was just not right. You don't send an emoticon to your blackmailer were Bella's thoughts.

"Mrs. Denali…I don't think this explains much" Bella tried to say gently.

"Honey…is everything there. That person killed my Tanya" she could not answer when a nurse came inside the room.

"Time to leave the patient rest, come tomorrow honey" a black woman in her middle thirties asked her politely while showing a big smile. Bella nodded and kissed Mrs. Denali's forehead one more time before leaving the room. She was pretty certain Tanya Denali killed herself and Mrs. Denali wasn't capable of accepting it. She knew it was perfectly normal after everything the woman went through, she just wished she could make the woman understand. She was going to put the phone back in her pocket when it beeped. It was a text message saying she had a missing call from someone. It didn't say the name, just the number.

She knew that number.

It was Ben's number.

_Why would Ben try to call Tanya Denali's phone?_

**Thanks!**

**-Lightfeatherxa**


	3. Chapter 3

**Uhmm...hi! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Thanks so much for your reviews/favs/follows. I'm glad some people find this story interesting. I'll probably be uploading Tues/Wed some of those days. I hope you enjoy this chap too and if you do i would really appreciate your thoughs on it. Okay...thanks again**

**P.s. No Beta...as always. If anyone wants to be lemme know. :)**

**Third Chapter**

"Do you like it here Al?" He asked looking intently at his little sister. She was only two years younger but at the same time he had already get used to the idea she was never going _to be_ two years younger. Somehow, he was okay with that, his sister was the most amazing person he had ever met and he was extremely proud of her. She didn't even look at him while she kept on playing with a yellow little umbrella he used when fancy women requested those fruity colorful drinks. "Hey Al!" he exclaimed a little louder getting his sister to look at him interested. Her expression showed lots of emotions, but none of those were ever going to be said out loud, or that was what the doctor had said.

He still had hope.

"Do you want to help me with those?" he asked before emptying the whole box full of little umbrellas in the table in front of his sister, Alice. Her eyes were suddenly full of excitement and a little squeal escaped her lips before he could feel her arms around his waist. The hug was returned immediately. "Come, sit with me" he requested warmly helping her sit next to him on the floor of their new acquisition, a bar. It was still empty and he was really worried it'd stay that way considering he had just moved to the most boring, people-less place of the whole country: Forks, Washington. _Even the name is ridiculous_ he thought to himself, but kept on smiling while looking at Alice.

She was his little sister and suffered from a severe case of autism. It was rare she acknowledged the world that surrounded her, but it had become common in the last years she responded to her brother's voice. She was a tiny little thing with spiky black hair and huge sparkly brown eyes. Her brother couldn't help but think that if she wasn't the way she was he would probably be scaring off guys constantly.

"Hey Ed!" a soft voice came from the front door of the bar. He couldn't help but smile at it. His face turned to meet a pair of piercing black eyes. There it was the same smug smile, the same shiny black hair, the same killer body as always.

"Leah, come on in." he invited his friend since childhood. He was born there and had lived in Forks until his seventeen birthday when he moved to Los Angeles to become a chef. He never made it. He managed to start a small business renting some rooms in a place the old man he used to live with there, gave him before he passed away, and little by little he was opening an actual hotel. By the time he was twenty-three he was opening a more than decent establishment and well-known people were spreading the word. His mother who was still in Forks with his little sister got very sick and Edward found himself taking care of Alice back in LA.

Everything was going fine until stuff happened and above all, his mother passed away leaving a nice big house and an empty bar for him and Alice. Edward left everything in LA and moved back to Forks.

Leah had been his friend since they were little. She was the first girl he kissed, he slept with, but the most important thing she loved Alice almost as much as he did. She never made it outside of Forks even though he had invited her to Los Angeles several times. She never accepted saying it was not a place for her.

"When will be the time you stop being so hot?" she asked laughing a little before hugging him tightly. Edward returned the hug equally tightly. _I need to get laid_ he thought to himself when he realized he was getting hard just by a hug. "Hey gorgeous, how's everything going?" she asked sitting next to Alice. Leah didn't wait for an answer before engulfing Alice in a big hug. She never returned it, but she didn't start screaming and crying either, like she did when people she didn't know touch her. "She looks amazing Ed"

"We the Cullen are pretty good looking people, huh? What do you say Al?" he asked and Alice only looked at him and gave him a big smile. Edward couldn't help but laugh loudly, earning another excited squeal from his sister.

"How is stuff going Eddie?" Leah asked getting completely serious. He tried not to get nervous but at the same time, he knew she could read him perfectly, no matter what he did.

"It's getting better, I can't believe I'm back in this shit hole, but I needed to do it. For Alice…and for mom" Leah nodded although she knew there was so much more. Edward was in love with Los Angeles, he would've never left unless something really important had happened. She didn't want to admit it, but she was worried.

"You'll tell me when you are ready" Leah murmured before starting to put the little umbrellas of the same color together, like Alice was doing.

"It's heavy stuff Le, big shitty motherfucking stuff" She only nodded and didn't say anything else.

"half now, the other half when it's done" he looked at the bag full of cash that his newest boss was offering, only a nod escaped him before grabbing the big leather bag and hold it next to him for dear life.

He was retired; tired of the shit it involved trying to run away from the cops. He managed to disappear two years ago, he was dead to the whole cops, FBI, CIA motherfuckers that wanted his head in a silver plate, but his back account didn't have as many zeroes as it used to and the newest proposition sounded easy and quick. He could do it with his eyes closed and his hands tight. He had done some pretty hardcore shit when he was working full time, so this was like a walk in the park, and all for a delicious amount of money. A smile crept across his face.

"of course" he accepted "just a suggestion…go putting that money together, you'll have me here sooner than you think" with only that said he held the bag tighter and left the room heading to the small apartment he had rented in the lower east side of Manhattan.

"Are you sure you are okay sweetie?" Bella felt like pulling his hair out. Nothing had happened to her, but still her sister had become a worried mother bear with her. And added to that, some crazy psychologist at the hospital where Mrs. Denali had been staying said it was better if Bella didn't spend time with the woman she so much cared about, because she fed the crazy theories about Tanya not killing herself. _I don't feed shit…ugh! Bitch!_ she thought to herself. It didn't matter to her she couldn't get near Mrs. Denali, she had promised the woman she was going to take her to the cemetery for Tanya's anniversary and she was not going to fail her on that.

"Ang, you know I love you…deeply, but I'm perfectly fine. I just want to make something for Mrs. Denali that is going to make her happy. I promise Angie, and you know I hate to not keep my word" Angela nodded before grabbing her purse from the navy blue sofa that rested on the center of her little sister's living room. It was a small place on the 116th and Broadway. She had tried to convince her to move to New Jersey with her and Ben and the kids although she knew Bella would never do that, she loved New York, the people running, the traffic, the lights…the madness. Charlie, their father loved it too while he lived. Bella was exactly like Charlie.

"Yeah, I know…We expect you for dinner tonight" Bella nodded before giving Angela a big hug. "See you sweetie" with that said Angela left the apartment leaving Bella to finish grabbing the last things she needed. The air was a little cold outside _I need a sweater_ she thought to herself before grabbing the big grey sweater she so much loved, and then putting it on. The second she had it on she felt something heavy in one of the pockets. When her hand made contact with it she felt the tiny buttons of an old Blackberry. A loud sigh escaped her mouth, if she took it to Mrs. Denali's house and give it to her the bitchy shrink was going to ban her from seeing Mrs. Denali so she just left it above a red t-shirt that was tucked in her closet. After that, she only grabbed a bag and left hurriedly to Mrs. Denali's pent house. She only hoped the woman could go out.

Seth was not at the door when she arrived. It was his day off and Bella knew the man that replaced him was never at his place when he was supposed to be there. It bothered her; knowing there was someone looking who got in and who got out made her feel safer about Mrs. Denali living alone. She kept on walking towards the elevator thanking it was only on the second floor. She called it and less than a minute later she was riding on it heading to Mrs. Denali's pent house.

When the heavy silver doors of the elevator opened Bella felt something strange inside of her. She walked inside the big living room leaving the door open behind her. Her eyes roamed around the room but her mouth kept shut. There was something different about the place but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Her heart started to beat faster and a little beeping sound filled her ears. _Nothing's going on Bella, calm down_ she chastised herself.

The curtains were open, the beautiful crystal ornaments shined aligned over a dark wood table, the cushions on the sofas looked perfectly distributed like always and the carpet…there it was. The carpet was wrong; there was something wrong about_ it_. Bella started to look furiously the carpet until she realized it didn't stop when the big sofa started, but it went under it. _Mrs. Denali never comes here. She could've never moved the sofa_ her mind was going into overdrive and she tried to calmed herself like her dad had taught her when she was a little kid and had nightmares about killer bears coming after her.

_You need to breathe Bella. _

_In and Out._

_In._

_And._

_Out._

It helped before she started walking towards Mrs. Denali's room. The wooden floor under her weight made some cracking noises that something made her feel she shouldn't be doing. Something was definitely wrong there, she didn't know what, but she was going to find out. Bella walked to the nearest wall and pressed her back against it. She lifted her leg till it was resting over the knee of the other one and took away her white Converse; once one was out she repeated the action with the other. Both her shoes were left there and then she resumed walking.

"Mrs. Denali" she whispered quietly. There was no answer, not even a sound. The big apartment suddenly felt bigger as she walked through the rooms towards the main bedroom. She was close when she felt a voice. No, she was wrong…there were _more_ than one. Who was there? Who could be inside Mrs. Denali's room with her? Maybe it was the bitchy shrink, or perhaps it was Irina, Tanya's cousin. Bella knew something about her getting into Yale and living with her friends there. Her feet slide roughly against the wooden floor as she slowly got close to the room and the voices; these were suddenly easier to hear.

"No, no, no…you _don't_ understand I don't have it" Bella heard Mrs. Denali's murmured. What was going on? What didn't she have?

"C'mon old fucking bitch, just give it to me and it'll be fine…well no, but it'll be better. Quicker" the moment Bella heard a low male voice speaking with so much venom in his voice a loud gasp escaped her mouth. There was definitely someone there trying to hurt Mrs. Denali. Her hands flew to her phone and she started texting like a crazy person.

_Ang, called the police, send it to Mrs. Denali's place. NOW!_

She turned off her phone after that, not taking the risk maybe Angela wanted to call her and demand an explanation for the text.

"I don't have it. I don't, I don't…I don't" Mrs. Denali's voice was getting weaker and Bella could hear her cry. She felt her eyes getting wetter by the second, but she couldn't even think about crying when a gun was fired on the other side of the door she was standing. A constant 'beep' found place in her ears while her whole body was just in shock. She couldn't move, she couldn't think what to do…and thankfully she couldn't scream either.

"Aaaaaaaagh! _Bitch!_" a low growl escaped the man who was in there. That was all it took for Bella to start running, the second before the door opened. "Shit!" she heard him curse until the sound of leather shoes pressing against the floor hurriedly came from behind her. "Come here!" Bella only started to run faster. She had an idea of what to do. Her feet were moving exceptionally coordinated considering how clumsy she was. Her father had always told her that if she ever found herself in danger she forgot about her and started thinking like him, that way she could be like a cop, she could know how to escape, how to be smarter than them…how to _survive_. Her feet turned around at the corner of the hallway before running across the living room. The moment she saw the little golden door knob she knew it was the best she could do. Her hands grabbed it desperately before she got inside the tiny coat closet and closed the door only enough to seem nobody was there, but leaving enough space for her to peek the front door. "Fuck you fast bitch" Bella heard the man say before he passed running right towards the front door.

_C'mon Bella; count slow. One…Two…Three!_ when the man was out of the front door she came out of the closet and closed it putting the chain fast enough for him to not push her away of it and kill her too.

"No!" he screamed pushing the door, luckily the chain stopped him from open it more than just a little bit. The air hitched on Bella's throat when her eyes met the face of a killer, of _Mrs. Denali's_ killer.

He was a young man, on his middle thirties maybe. He had blonde hair and the scariest pair of blue eyes she had ever seen. They were looking at her, memorizing every inch of her face, gloating at the fear emanating from every pore on her body. The smile…the smile that he had on his face was the most terrifying thing Bella's ever witnessed. He was happy and pleased with himself. He seemed excited, like he had a challenge, a new game and the way to win it was killing her, was taking her life. Bella felt how she suddenly could move again and two of her fingers smashed against the killer's eyes earning a low scream and a seething sound. She closed the door and run towards Mrs. Denali's room.

She knew what she was about to found, and although she was trying to _think_ like her dad, to _act _like her dad and_ be_ like her dad…she was not her dad, she wasn't prepared to deal with what just happened, she was not prepared to deal with the fact that there were people who killed other people and found joy in it. A loud sob escaped her mouth when her eyes met the blood spilled in the cream color wall behind Mrs. Denali's head.

She couldn't save her.

**Thanks very much!**

**-Lightfeatherxa**


	4. Chapter 4

**_I don't own Twilight sadly, SM does. _**

**_Hey you guys. Here's another chapter. Sorry i didn't upload when i said i was going to, a lot of stuff happened this week so...I'm sorry. Hopefully I'll be uploading thursday/Friday...one of those days. Thanks for your revies, it makes me happy someone actually read this. Thanks very much again...and...enjoy!_**

**_P.s. No Beta as always! _**

**Fourth Chapter**

He was _thrilled_. Although he went in looking for some quick cash on a ridiculously easy job, he welcomed the new challenge the fate have presented him with, or maybe it had been his sloppiness, after all he had been out of business for almost three years.

It was a lovely kitten with huge brown eyes and veins filled with courage. He had been the most stupid criminal ever; finding himself defeated by said kitten. He could've ended with her, but somehow he knew the police was coming, and the new mess he had to get out of was the most exciting thing his life had presented him with, lately. Being away from the feds, living calmly was something he more than welcomed, but at the same time it got boring pretty fast. He enjoyed the chase, the game and above all the _killing_. That moment when the person is begging, fear emanating from every single one of their pores, and still knowing that no matter what they do he is going to kill them, it gave him a power he couldn't compare to anything. He enjoyed it way too much. It made him feel like one of the most powerful people in the world and that was a feeling that excited him more that any women could do.

He threw a pair of blue contact lenses, and the blue sweater he was wearing into a trashcan two blocks from Mrs. Denali's building and started walking south hearing the sound of the sirens coming closer. Even if they saw him they wouldn't be able to recognize him, he have had too many changes making sure no one was going to be able to identify him even if he walked into a police station wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a neon pink short. That was the main reason the feisty kitten needed to disappear, needed to die, because she had_seen_ him. She could _identify_ him and he was not going to throw away all the effort he had made to live under the radar.

"Hello" a soft voice came from the front door of the bar. Luckily it was not a surprise there was someone there. Apparently Esme Cullen used to do a pretty good job providing alcohol to all the people in need of some in Forks, and that reputation followed Edward. He found himself enjoying the job. It was calmer than Los Angeles, people weren't so insane like back where he used to live, and not too many things out of the ordinary happened, but it was still a fun work the one he was doing.

"Hey man! How's it going?" Edward greeted Jasper Whitlock. He wasn't quite sure what Jasper's job was, but he seemed to be a nice guy: sandy blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and a very calming vive. If he had to throw an idea of what he did, he would probably say Jasper was a surfer living under the influence of weed and practicing some weird religion under the moon at the beach at night.

"All good. Can I get a vodka tonic please?" Jasper ordered before sitting in a stool in front of the bar. Edward nodded and started preparing his drink. The place was a dark old bar, with an Irish decoration. He used to come when Esme was the owner, a very nice woman. He more than once thought he should pay her for being an un-official psychologist. There was something about her, you just opened you heart after two tequila shots and for a while you felt better about yourself. You could sleep at night, until shit came back to your mind and you could not sleep again until you talk to her some more. When Esme got sick he couldn't even believe it. It was very quick and he couldn't even start to think what he was going to do with his own demons now she was gone. Maybe going to an actual psychologist in Port Angeles, or start drinking even more until he couldn't control it but at the same time, until his body got so numb, nothing else mattered. Luckily for him, Edward Cullen, Esme's son, decided to keep the bar open and supply him with a daily dose of alcohol, not big enough to consider himself an alcoholic.

"Here you go" Edward put the thin tall glass in front of Jasper. He couldn't decide if talking to Jasper was something he would welcome or if it would just annoy him and make him think twice about coming back. He was never one of those who liked to pry, and sometimes trying to avoid that he came as an uninterested person. "How annoying this rain, huh? I can't seem to get used to it even though I used to live here"

"Yeah, this weather makes me want to listen to Steve Ray Vaughan and smoke a joint to feel better about myself" Jasper laughed at that and Edward too. It was obvious then he was not a surfer enrolled in weird religions, although Edward was not so sure about the weed part. Clearly Jasper smoked. Suddenly he felt the urge to ask him if he could get him some, the rain at night, the constant crying of Alice when the thunders were too strong, and the grey skies it was making him a little bit sad. "I can't imagine being you. I heard you came from Los Angeles? How's life there?" Edward felt like shrugging, he didn't want to think about what he left behind.

"A little bit crazy. It's in the past though; I'm here for good now" Jasper nodded getting the fact Edward didn't want to talk about that.

"Hello, can we come in?" before even getting an answer Leah came inside the bar with Alice under her arm. His sister looked relaxed and happy and that made him feel better. Sometimes he couldn't take the time to take care of Al, and needed to drop her with Leah, he was happy she would still be okay and found in their childhood friend a good company.

"Of course ladies" Edward said smiling. He walked from behind the bar to give Leah and hug and then kiss Alice's cheek with a loud noise making her squeal in delight. "How did the day go?" Leah just winked before grabbing Alice's hand and giving it a light squeeze just before getting lost outside the bar. Edward hugged Al against him and started to walk towards the bar. "Hey Al, this is Jasper Whitlock, he lives two blocks from our place" Alice's eyes didn't even acknowledge Jasper before she started playing with a pen and a white paper.

"Is very nice to meet you Alice, I was wondering who was Edward's famous sister" she didn't even look up and Jasper was okay with it. Everybody knew Alice and how she was just different.

"I'm sure she says '_nice to meet you'_" Edward said smiling and giving Alice a big smile.

"Yeah, it's okay" Jasper answered smiling at the pretty lady with spiky black hair and shiny brown eyes.

Bella woke up soaked with sweat after having the same nightmare for the third time in the night. She was running desperately from a pair of very terrifying blue eyes. It was Mrs. Denali's building. Her feet felt heavy and she was running out of breath, while the killer was getting closer and closer to her. She wanted to run faster, maybe scream, something, she just wanted to do _something_, but she knew there was anything she could do to get away from him. When she was pressing desperately the elevator button she felt the cold metal of a gun against her head and before the '_bang_' she always woke up scared to death and ready to take a shower.

The police suggested she spent the night at her place and the next morning she had to go to the station to answer some questions. When she arrived there two officers presented themselves as the ones being in charge of the whole investigation: Aro Vulturi and Alec Garner. The first one was a fifty something year old man with a really bad attitude, while the other was a young man with a cheeky smile and a friendly vive. Bella could imagine them playing good and bad cop. Probably Aro would scream and break something, while Alec requested him to calm down. He would leave the room, the young one would offer you something to drink or maybe something to eat and then Aro would come back pretending he was calm and ready to move on with the interrogation.

Aro was indeed the annoyed guy when she had to give details about the man that had killed Mrs. Denali to get a sketch ready. She answered he had no tattoos, no piercings, not even a single scar and no birth marks. He had blonde hair and a pair of very intense blue eyes. He seemed kind of young; his face was proportioned except maybe his lips which were a little bit full. But when the drawing was finished it wasn't like the killer.

"No, he doesn't look quite like that" she would answered completely exhausted for the lack of sleep and the almost four hours she'd been in there.

"Then how the fuck does he looks, Miss Swan?!" Aro Vulturi screamed clearly annoyed and running out of patience. He had been working for the NYPD for almost thirty years and he still couldn't handle witnesses. They were slow; they didn't think fast or remember the important stuff. They got nervous and usually ended up being a crying mess making impossible for him to do his fucking job. He was thankful Miss Swan hadn't cried a single tear yet, but still he didn't like her. She was hiding something, he could feel it in his guts and his guts were never wrong. The question was: _what was Isabella Swan hiding from the police?_

"Calm down Aro, Bella is probably exhausted, screaming will do no good" Aro only mumbled something before living the small room they were in with the guy making the sketch. A scrawny boy with greasy hair and a lot of acne called Eric.

They showed Bella lots of books filled with pictures of killers, rapists, thieves, but still Mrs. Denali's murderer wasn't in them. They decided it was better to postpone that to the next day and went to the interrogation part. To say she was nervous was an understatement, Bella knew the killer was looking for something, and although she could not be certain of it, she thought maybe the old Blackberry that now rested inside the can where she usually keep the sugar was the answer. And about one thing she was completely sure, she was not going to give that phone to the police. They were absolutely sure Tanya Denali killed herself, but apparently it was Mrs. Denali who was right and Tanya was murdered. Bella wasn't precisely sure she would be able to solve a case she wasn't even sure existed, but she was going to try.

"So miss Swan…you witnessed a murder yesterday, right?" Isabella thought for a moment before speaking.

"Technically I didn't, I never saw when Mrs. Denali was shot, I just heard a gun being fired and ran as fast as I could" that was the truth so her voice came calm and collected.

"Do you understand this was probably something easy for the killer? Everything was going the way he planned it until you showed up. Why did you happen to be there when it had been requested to you to stay away from Mrs. Denali for a while?"

"Because I had made a promise. Yesterday was Tanya Denali's anniversary and I had promised Mrs. Denali I was going to take her to the cemetery to say hi to her granddaughter, I couldn't have cared less about what that psychologist said, I was going to keep my word and that was what I tried to do. That was the reason I was there yesterday" she answered Aro Vulturi. He was the only one making the questions, while Alec was resting against a wall with his arms crossed giving Bella a reassuring smile.

"I see, so…you show up in the middle of a crime to keep a promise, you get caught by an_apparently_ well trained killer and _still_you manage to escape and _still_ make a call to the cops…that's impressive Miss Swan. Really impressive…" it didn't take a genius to know Aro was implying something else. Maybe trying to say Bella had planned everything. That maybe she got something to do with the killer and Mrs. Denali's death "have you heard about Mrs. Denali's lawyer?" Aro asked before she could say anything to him.

"No I haven't. Should I have heard about him?" her tone came defensive and almost aggressive, but the man asking the questions thought she knew more than she actually did. His gut was pointing him to the wrong person. _Such a comfort…a man out there tried to kill me and the police instead of going after him, is after me, such a good cop _ Bella thought to herself.

"Yes, definitely you should have. Your name is in the will. Mrs. Denali was a very rich woman an apparently you were considered like family to her, just like Irina Denali…but again, you should be talking about this with Mr. Newton, Mrs. Denali's lawyer, not me"

"What are you trying to say officer Volturi, that I killed Mrs. Denali so I could put my hands on her will? So that I could suddenly be rich and that the killer was someone hired by me, that being the reason I got away? If that's what you are saying then you can go _fuck yourself_ officer, I almost got killed yesterday and I saw one of the people I loved the most in this world with a bullet in her brain, I'm not feeling good, I'm completely terrified and still you accuse me of being the bad guy. If this is the service the police can provide then I don't fucking want it" Bella got on her feet after her outburst but she didn't even move a foot when two hands crashed against the metal table she had in front of her. Aro Volturi was standing there looking at her with pure rage in his eyes.

"Sit. Down. _Now_!" Bella couldn't find in herself to disobey the man.

"Aro, C'mon…calm down. Bella's right. She didn't do anything, she's probably exhausted and scared…let's just take a breath please" Alec's voice came in a soothing voice from against the wall.

"My dad was a cop. When I was there running as fast as I could, I could only remember his words saying that if I ever found myself in danger I should think like him, because that way, maybe, I could get away and that was what I did. If I have to tell you officer Vulturi how I'm alive right now and not dead like Mrs. Denali, I don't think I have the answer, but I know my dad helped me, and I know I could never do something as despicable as planning a homicide just to put my hands in a money I don't even want" Bella managed to say before finally starting to cry.

"That stupid asshole took his time before he got us this" a sexy voice coming from a woman with the hair like fire and a pair of very hypnotizing honey eyes commented. Victoria James was the daughter of a New York senator. She didn't precisely like to play the role of well-behaved daddy's princess. She liked to party, she liked expensive shit that made her mind fly to a different dimension, she liked to drink until she couldn't walk in a straight line even if she tried her hardest and above all she liked to fuck. Very much.

"I was about to beat his sorry ass for not keeping his word" Jacob Black agree with Victoria right before throwing the needle along with a used syringe into the trash can of his bedroom. Vicky laughed loudly at that while she started to feel the whole room spin. She walked to his bed and let her body fell into the mattress right next to a very naked Jacob. It had only been a year since Victoria was somewhat rich, his father wasn't precisely not-corrupt and his pockets had way more money than they should. His daughter took advantage of that fact daily, especially to buy doses of a new drug called '_dragon_' she wasn't sure of what was it made, but it made her whole world shake and she loved it. She met Jacob through their dealer. They both enjoyed the same, the both lived the same life style, and they were both young, pretty and liked very much to get laid. That was exactly what they usually did.

"I'm glad you didn't. I don't want those very talented fingers to get bruised" Victoria smiled as the words came out. She managed to get on her knees and crawl towards Jacob. She put one leg on either side of him and bent forward to kiss him. She could feel his erection pressing against her belly.

"You know these fingers will never let you down Vic" he laughed before flipping the both, resting him on top of her. One hand didn't even hesitatea little before starting to play between Victoria's legs. He pressed his thumb against her clit making her moan and then laugh; Jacob smiled wider when two of his fingers got inside of her. Vicky started to moan louder as three of his fingers fucked her. She wasn't precisely in love with Jacob Black, she wasn't even sure she liked him, but the guy knew how to make her scream. She had recently accepted she had an addiction to those fingers and that was the main reason she usually put up with all the bullshit Jake may put her through. His lips found her nipple making her arched her back to make contact with him. His mouth open wider before going after the other nipple, his tongue played a little with it feeling how it got harder instantly under his touch, his lips suck at it for a second before grabbing it between his teeth and biting, hard. Victoria left a loud, bordering maniac, laugh fill then room right before a scream escape her lips and she come all over Jacob's fingers.

"Mmmmm…always so efficient Mr. Black" she purred moving like a hypnotizing mermaid between the sheets. "now is my turn to play a little bit with you, my mouth is as skilled as those fingers, you know?" she murmured getting or her knees and starting to bent forward to put Jacob's cock inside her mouth.

"I know it is Vic" he said closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of her wet mouth.

"Do you think the Swan girl can blow you like I do, Jake? I don't even know why you want her" Victoria's spoke making Jacob came back from the daze of the blow job Vicky was starting to give him. He pulled away and got up from the bed.

"Stop talking about her Vic, you know how I don't fucking want to talk about it. Stay the fuck out of it, it's not your business, we just fuck because we like it hard and we enjoy getting fucking high…but you don't get to pry in my life and I certainly couldn't give two shits about yours" she just laughed, she knew Jacob and how sensitive he got when someone mentioned Isabella Swan. Somehow Victoria thought that _prude_ could actually change Jake and get him out of all the shit he was into. _Jake would be so boring…just like her_Victoria thought to herself before starting to rub her clit again. She moaned at the sensation right before the latest news came to her mind.

"Well…too bad I can't talk about her, now I can't let you know all about how your pretty little swan almost got killed" Jacob's eyes opened wider looking incredulously at Victoria. He knew her. She would never tease him with something like that unless it was true.

"What do you mean she almost got killed?" he asked suddenly feeling completely angry. She laughed one more time and gestured him to come to the spot on the bed next to her.

"Let me ride that cock until I come and then I will tell you everything I know" the words came out as a sexy purr. He thought about hitting her, maybe just screaming at her…but he knew Victoria, she wasn't going to get scared, she was just going to make him miserable, so he complied and he couldn't complaint when he came hard thinking it was Bella the one sitting on top of him and moaning so loudly he knew the neighbors could heard her.

_**A/N**_

_**Guys...i know there are a lot of individual stories going on...but sooner or later you'll see how everything relates to everything. An it's not too many chaps 'till bartenderward and witnessella are meeting for the first time. Xx!**_

_**P.s. follow me on twitter if you want: flyingfeatherss**_

_**-Lightfeatherxa**_


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything**

**A/N Hey guys! how are you? Just wanted to say thanks to the people who reviewed and that put this fic in alert/favs. I really appreciate it. Okay...this chapter is the end of the Bella and Edward living completely apart. I hope you enjoy it. Next chapter will be up pretty soon. Probably Thurs next week. I hope...I'm studying a lot for a big fat test so yeah. **

**I'd love to hear what you think about the chapter, so if you got a minute and want to...leave me you thoughts. **

**I haven't recc a song for any chapter but the song: Ghost in the machine sounded over and over again while i wrote this chapter. It kind of feels like the soundtrack for Bella in this story.**

**Btw, thanks to someone in particular, that left me a review pointing some things i should change to improve this story and my writing, I really really very much appreciate it. I'm really trying to improve constantly and that kind of things help, a lot. **

**Okay...that's it! :)**

**Enjoy.**

_**P.s. No BETA AS ALWAYS**_

**Fifth Chapter**

"And I swear Bella I'm just not ready to have another one" Angela was talking all about how Ben wanted to have another baby. Bella didn't say anything but she couldn't help the feeling that suddenly warmed her inside at the prospects of having another niece or nephew. It was a sunny day and in less than an hour the place was going to be filled with little girls dressed as princesses and little boys running from one side of the yard to the other pretending they were superheroes defending the place. _I could use some defense_ Bella thought to herself. She was extremely tired; the whole week had been about her and the police not reaching any agreement. Officer Vulturi said that the person that had killed Mrs. Denali was definitely a professional but not a single sketch matched someone they knew. Bella had to look over a thousand pictures of any kind of criminals and not even one was the owner of the scariest blue eyes she had ever seen. All that leaded to Aro Vulturi being extremely mean to Isabella, he insisted on her hiding something, and although he was right Bella was never going to reveal she owned the phone that belonged to Tanya Denali.

The nights were extremely long. She had found herself sitting on her couch with a cup of tea and a book at four am. It was nearly impossible for her to close her eyes and not visualize the person that almost took her life. She was terrified, she knew that, but there was no one she could tell that. Angela would start crying and ordering her to move to her place, but Bella knew it was going to be an inconvenience not only for her sister, but for her as well. She still needed to go to work every morning at 6:30 am and if she wanted to go from Angela's place, she had to wake up at 4 am. That was something she was sure, she was not physically qualified to do every single morning. She couldn't tell her mother either, or maybe she could, but in her eyes Renee Swan was a fragile thread, anything could break her, and it was not going to be her fears what did that. Something inside her knew it was not over, she didn't know much about criminals or the way they operate, her father always insisted on her being oblivious to that kind of facts, according to Charlie, it was '_some nasty information, no one who can avoid it should know_', but still, something inside her told her the killer was not over. She had seen him, _clearly_, if she closed her eyes every single detail of his face would come back to haunt her, and if he wasn't _still_ in the police radar, he needed to get rid of her, so if they caught him there was not a single person who could point their finger to him. And pointing she could do…and she hated that fact very much.

"You should tell him Ang, Ben will understand" Bella suggested finishing with the napkins. A loud sigh escaped Angela's mouth before she turned around and started walking back to the house. She felt bad, she wanted to help her more, but it was not a subject she could relate to, and sometimes it felt like anything she would say would not be enough. Bella plopped herself on a pink plastic chair before grabbing the black old cellphone that rested inside her jeans' pockets. She wondered what was with that cellphone that everybody seemed to be related to it. Mrs. Denali treasured it, claiming it had a prove that Tanya didn't kill herself, Ben had somehow called to that phone when she was at the hospital after Mrs. Denali passed out, the killer demanded Mrs. Denali to tell him where something was, and Bella would bet her hand it was that same phone, and the officers at the NYPD also knew there was something missing, and they knew Bella had something to do with them not finding it.

She had spent several hours trying to find something in that phone that was important, but except for those two text messages it was empty, completely empty. There was absolutely anything that could point to Tanya's suicide being a homicide instead. For all the people taking trouble with it…apparently there was. She stopped thinking about it for a minute and put it back inside her pocket.

"Good afternoon Bella" Isabella's head snapped up at the sound of a loud, deep voice. She knew that voice. Before a killer came into her life, it was the thing that gave her chills the most. In front of her in a white button down, khaki pants and brown leather shoes was standing Jacob Black. His hair was still damped, his big toothy smile bigger than ever and those brown eyes showing that fake kindness she always found in them.

"Hello Jacob. I wasn't aware you were coming" she said giving him a small smile, although she wanted to stand up and start running to the opposite side.

"Yes, how could I miss the birthday of the prettiest princess in town?" he joked laughing at his own comment. He was resting against the table with all the birthday stuff, both hands in his pockets and one leg in front of another. Bella wasn't blind, Jacob Black was an extremely handsome man, she just wanted to punch him in the face and tell him to '_fuck the fuck off!_'

"Yeah, of course…I should've known, I'm sorry" she apologized. She wasn't really sorry she just was being extremely polite, trying not to cause a scene in her niece's birthday because she gave him a piece of her mind.

"I've heard about everything you've been going through this past couple of weeks…How are you Bella?" '_I don't know…like shit?_' instead of speaking what she was thinking she just shrugged giving him a sad smile.

"It's not the best time of my life, I'm dealing with it though" that was true. She was definitely dealing with it, minute by minute, day by day. He nodded before extending his hand and trying to grab hers. Bella put it between her thighs and gave him a shy smile, almost apologetic.

"Are you still living alone in that apartment? Bella I definitely think you should consider moving to a safer place, maybe with someone. You know my pent house is big enough for both of us, you could just spend a couple of days there, _maybe_, so you are not alone, you'll definitely have your space and I ca-" she didn't even let him finish. Jacob Black was definitely a mad man if he thought she was going to move in with him. The simple idea made her shiver; she preferred running all night from a killer than sharing the same place with Jacob.

"Thank you, Jacob, for your offer but I'm okay. I'm a big girl and somehow I think I know how to take care of myself. I really appreciate your offer, I'm gonna have to pass though" there it was, a cold angry feeling filled Jacob's eyes for a minute before he came back to being kind and polite. He hated rejection; he hated not being in control and sometimes she was scared that with her rejection he would stop coming back to kindness and just start making her miserable. '_At least I'm going to be able to tell him what I think about him_'

"I know you are, but can you blame me for trying to help you somehow? You are Angela's sister so I feel like you are family to me too" '_if that's the case, with your thoughts…it's incest!_' she would rather die than being in the same family as Jacob Black. She couldn't understand why but she deeply hated him.

"Of course I can't, like I said: I really appreciate it" he only nodded before Ben's voice came from the house.

"How are you two doing out there?" he asked happily while walking towards them carrying trays with food. Bella didn't want to answer that but Jacob didn't seem very willing to do it, either.

"Everything's fine. Do you need help with that Ben?" She asked getting back on her feet. Ben shook his head before putting both trays on the long wooden table.

"No Bells, thank you. Do you guys think you could help us getting the door when the bell rings, please? In that I could definitely use some help" Both Bella and Jacob nodded immediately.

"Of course Ben, don't worry" Isabella assured him; suddenly being grateful he was there with her and that she was not alone with Jacob Black. A loud song from Kiss started to play right before Bella saw Ben reach into the back pocket of his dark washed jeans. She was expecting to see a new iPhone. Angela and she made a two blocks line to get that damn phone for Ben's birthday, but when a rusty blue Blackberry was the phone he was holding she couldn't help but feel an estrange feeling inside of her.

"Hey baby…yeah…yeh, don't worry. I love you" He ended the call mere seconds later before rolling his eyes. "Dalton is throwing a tantrum upstairs and Angela is trying to deal with him, can you Bella please help me supervise the party for a little while until Ang comes down?" Bella felt almost insulted he felt the need to ask.

"Of course Ben, I mean…C'mon" he laughed at her playful tone. "Hey Ben…by the way; where's you iPhone?" she asked trying to sound nonchalant about it, although she was extremely upset somehow about it missing, it was as if something suddenly wasn't so clear as she thought it was, and although she was more than grateful that maybe Ben didn't have absolutely anything to do with Tanya Denali, then who did? Who was the person trying to communicate from Ben's phone to a dead woman's phone?

"Don't even mention it. Someone stole it a couple of weeks ago when I was working. It is estrange because I trust all of my employees, and there's nothing on the security cameras. What I know is that I had it and a minute later it was gone" The tone in his voice was bitter, it truly seemed like he was upset and that he had absolutely no clue where that phone was. Bella only gave him a sad smile; she knew there was anything she could say at the moment without his voice sounding on edge.

"Aunt Bella" a quiet voice came from the glass door that leaded to the house. Standing in a beautiful pink dress and white shoes was her niece. She had her black hair tied in two braids falling next to her rosy cheeks; her big eyes looking back at her with a new kind of excitement. Bella knew Claire was an extremely quiet child, she was shy and sensitive. Sometimes it felt like she was older than her or Angela when it came to dealing with feelings. Somehow it reminded her of herself when she was little and Renee was this erratic, childish mother, and Charlie was a goof that lived to make everybody laugh, and then there was Angela that was going through boys, and shopping with the girls and _what do I wear to the parties_ and she was the only one that seemed serious in the family. Claire was like that, and that made her love her even more.

"Hello there beautiful, happy birthday!" Bella exclaimed excited walking towards Claire. This opened her arms and waited until her aunt hugged her tightly. "Are you excited about all your friends coming over?" Claire nodded slowly, but smiling.

"Yes, all my friends are going to come over dressed as princesses" Bella smiled widely and nodded.

"I know…don't tell anybody, but I still think you are the prettiest princess of them all" Claire giggled and hugged Bella's neck, who was knelt in front of her. "It's true so don't laugh" she fake scolded at her niece, earning an even louder giggle.

"Aunt Bella, can I get my present please?"

"Don't you want to open it with the rest?" Bella asked excited at the prospect of her niece finally seeing what she got for her. She was sure Claire was going to love it; she couldn't wait to the big eyes getting even bigger and the little squeal that was probably going to leave her mouth.

"No, yours is special, I want it to be when there's only special people with me" Bella's heart melted a little and she could only nod, otherwise she was going to start crying. With all the police investigation, and all the stuff she had been dealing in the couple of weeks she was extremely sensitive and Claire saying something like that to her made her eyes water instantly.

"Well okay, but it's in the car, I have to go and get it" Claire clapped her little hands excitedly. "Let me tell your dad" she turned around and walked towards Ben who was chatting animatedly with Jacob about the last girl this banged or something. She thought it was beyond disgusting. "Hey Ben! I'm going to get Claire's present, she wants to open it before her friends arrive" his brother in law nodded absentmindedly.

"I'm coming with you aunt Bella" announced Claire grabbing Bella's hand. They walked through the house together stopping only at the entrance to get Ben and Angela's car keys. She had put the present in the trunk of their Prius when she arrived early that morning. She didn't want Claire finding it when she was not around and missing her reaction.

"What do you think I get you?" Bella asked still grabbing Claire's hand. They get out of the house and started to walk to the car. She could hear her niece making a humming sound while she thought.

"A castle?" Bella laughed and shook her head at the same time.

"No, a castle is too big, I couldn't bring it here" she tried to explain, leaving out the fact that a castle costs millions of millions and she barely made it to the end of the month.

"A pony!" Bella felt the need to laugh again.

"No Claire, it's nothing alive"

"So it isn't a puppy either" it was definitely not a puppy. Angela was allergic to them so if Bella bought her niece one it would be the last thing she would gave to her because her sister would kill her with her bare hands. Isabella didn't say anything when they reached the car that was park outside the house. Pressing a little button the trunk made a '_click_' sound announcing it was open. She was extending her hand to open it entirely when suddenly a lot of things happen in mere seconds.

She felt three loud '_bangs_' resonate next to her ear. A glass was broken, Claire screamed at the top of her lungs and a feeling like something was burning her whole arm invaded her. The screeching sound of a car speeding next to them was the last thing she could identify in all the madness. It was like she was dizzy; there was a constant beeping sound in her ears making it impossible for her to listen to anything else except it. She let her whole body rest against the car trying to find Claire. She wasn't standing next to her anymore.

"Claire!" she screamed loudly. Something inside her was panicking, she couldn't hear anything, she couldn't see straight, her whole body didn't seem to cooperate and her arm was in agonizing pain, but it didn't matter at all, she just wanted to know where Claire was.

"Help! Ben! Help me please!" she screamed again. She wasn't even sure it was loud enough; she knew she was speaking but her voice didn't reach her ears. Through the front door the tall figures of Jacob and Ben came running towards her. They didn't need to care for her; they needed to see where Claire was. "Where's Claire?! I can't see Claire!" she screamed again. Her eyes closed themselves for a second and when she opened them again Jacob had both his hands pressed against Bella's left arm. "Jacob where's Claire?" she asked panicking. Jacob only pointed to the side of the car where Ben was knelt. Did something happen to her? Was she okay? She didn't understand what was going on, they were ready to get the present and then it all happened extremely fast. Her eyes filled with tears before a loud sob escaped her mouth. And then another. And then she couldn't stop crying, and as much as she hated him she felt herself falling into Jacob's arms. And for a second his embrace made her feel better.

"So I look to my right and there's the pink sea painting. It was amazing" Jasper was sitting next to Alice in Edward's bar. He was telling her this story about his first girlfriend: an art student named Maria that had some sort of obsession with the seas being pink. She was one quirky girl, always had her hair in a messy ponytail, and wore glasses like John Lennon's. She loved to smoke, wasn't quite fond of showering and always wore the same Ramones t-shirt, but she very well known how to give head -he didn't quite mention that to Alice-. It had been his routine every single afternoon: going to have a drink at Alice's brother bar and talk to her for quite a long time. He was quite sure she understood what he was saying; she just didn't want to let him know; she listened.

It had been the previous day when a little squeal left Alice's mouth when he was telling how he had swam with dolphins when he was younger. It seemed like she enjoyed listening to Jasper talk about them, so he revealed all about his trip to _SeaWorld_ when he was little. Alice was extremely concentrated in painting a ridiculously detailed drawing Edward had bought to her, but still he knew she listened. The whole situation reminded Jasper of Esme and him, when she used to listen all about his problems, his story, how she made him feel better, she made him feel understood and that same effect had talking to Alice. She had this pure soul that seemed to drawn him in.

"What I never understood about her was why she hated flowers so much. I bought her this big pink peonies bouquet when it was out sixth month anniversary. I've never been one of those kinds of romantic guys, but with Maria it was different, she was the first girl I actually felt something strong for. When I gave them to her she just scrunched her nose and left them in the hallway saying she felt her whole aura contaminated because of an extremely strong smell blinding her senses and most primal instincts. Do you even know what that means Al?" he asked her expecting absolutely any acknowledgement of her listening to the story he was telling, but when her face lifted up and her eyes met his, Jasper felt as if his whole body shook involuntarily. A wide smile spread across his face earning a little squeal coming from Alice's mouth. "I bet you really like flowers Al, you are a nice girl, and nice girls deserve nice things like pretty flowers" she didn't say anything and just got back to painting the drawing.

"Everything's good, man?" Jasper heard Edward ask while making a fruity drink for Jessica Stanley. She was a shy girl that had barely turned twenty one. She worked in the town's library, although _lived_ was more precise. Everybody in town seemed to hate her for some reason, but as long as Jasper knew her, she never did anything to anybody. She stayed to herself, was extremely shy and never uttered a word except it was necessary: like asking for a daiquiri. He had seen her there before, apparently she seemed to like the silence of the people drinking in the bar, it was a place that made you feel better about yourself, and it made you forget about your demons for a little while. He didn't know Jessica Stanley, but apparently she had as many demons as he did.

"Perfect" Jasper answered right before his phone started to ring. That was something strange, it barely ever ringed anymore. It just always did when it came to work issues. He fished inside his blue jeans front pocket and took it out confirming it was indeed about work. "Whitlock" he almost snapped.

"Officer Whitlock is Aro Vulturi from New York" he knew the man. It was an old school cop, and although he made justice happen, he wasn't very orthodox when it came to the methods he used.

"Yes of course office Vulturi, how may I help you?" he asked while getting back on his feet and starting to walk outside to speak more privately. Jasper Whitlock worked in the Witness Program Protection and when someone called him it meant there was a person he needed to relocate; he needed to make someone disappear and a new person appear. It was a stressing job, he dealt with their breakdowns, he dealt with their constant tendency to break the rules and put themselves at risk, he had to deal with the aftermath when things, _sometimes_, didn't work out.

"I need you to make a female disappear, she witnessed a murder and apparently the fucker is after her" _poor soul, the wrong place at the wrong time_ Jasper thought to himself.

"Of course, I'm flying tonight" Aro thanked him before he ended the call. Alice was going to have to wait a couple of days before he got her the huge bouquet of pink peonies he wanted to give her. Right then there was a woman that needed him much, _much_ more.

She felt everything in her body was in pain, specially her arm. There was a constant beeping sound in the background that was making her go nuts, it felt like a torture to even try an open her eyes, so she couldn't precisely tell where it came from. She knew she had to, though; she lived in this constant state of panic, always watching her back, expecting the worse…but apparently all the caution Bella had taken, had not been enough, because she was laying somewhere feeling like dying was better than living if that was the pain she had to bare.

"Is she awake?" she heard a low smooth voice speak. Isabella had become extremely familiar with it considering all the hours they had spent talking at the police station while he thought she had something to do with the homicide of Mrs. Denali. It was Aro Vulturi's voice…but what was he doing there? Was he back to accuse her of pretending to be attacked so she could be free of any suspicion coming from them? She wasn't even sure what had happened. She was at Claire's birthday; her niece had asked her about the present she got for her. She had spent three whole months searching in all the bookstores of New York city the best princesses books she could find. It had ended up being over thirty, they were all together inside a pink wooden box that she had painted herself. She knew Claire would love it. But she couldn't give it to her because something happened. Something had happened not only to her but to her niece too. In that same second, opening her eyes didn't seem much of a sacrifice.

"Officer" Bella mumbled feeling her mouth suddenly really dry. They had probably drugged her and the effects were not gone yet. She found herself in a white room, sitting next to her was Aro Vulturi with an exasperated face; and with his body resting against the wall was Alec. This didn't look exasperated at all; he looked preoccupied, like he was really concerned about something. "Water" she whispered right before trying to sit on the bed. The most unbearable pain she had ever felt spread through her left arm making a loud screech leave her mouth and fresh tears run down her cheeks.

"Miss Swan, if I were you I wouldn't do that" Aro suggested while putting a straw in front of her lips. She put it inside her mouth and sucked feeling instantly the cold water in her mouth. It was a little relief in such a shitty situation. "You were shot, the doctor had to almost do magic to save that arm Miss Swan. You are going to have one hell of a scar there" Alex grumbled behind Aro right before walking and standing next to Isabella. He gave her a big smile.

"Always so positive Aro, I'm shocked Bella is not your biggest fan" sarcasm dripped from every word that left Alec's mouth.

"I'm being positive, she still has her arm" Bella couldn't care less about that stupid discussion, about her stupid arm, if taking it off meant not feeling the pain she was currently feeling she would take it in a heartbeat. All she could think about was Claire; she wanted to know about her little niece.

"Where's Claire? Is she okay?" she asked noticing how panic rose from her voice with every word she said. She felt Alec's hand press against her shoulder in a calming manner.

"She's fine, one of the bullets broke a car window and some of the crystals scratched Claire's skin, but she's fine, she's already at home resting. By the way, she loved the present you got for her" Bella could only nod after Alec's words. A big lump had formed in her throat and her eyes were about to water. She didn't want to cry, she just wanted that awful nightmare she had found herself in to be over. She couldn't take it much longer.

"Miss Swan, do you understand you were almost killed?" she nodded. Of course she understood, for Christ sake, she was in a hospital bed with her arm in excruciating pain. "We honestly can't protect you. We can put an agent to be with you all you want, but this is a well-trained killer we are talking about. If he wants to kill you, he'll most definitely kill you, agent or no agent" Isabella couldn't believe the words that left Aro's mouth. What did it mean?

"So what are you saying officer…I'm a dead woman? I have my time counted? I don't understand…" the deep eyes of Aro Vulturi showed, for the first time since she had met him, compassion. He was sorry for her. He was seeing her, finally, as a real victim in all this, and not some con artist with ulterior motives.

"If you stay here, Miss Swan, yes I think you don't have much time. He'll find you and he'll kill you. You've seen him Miss Swan, that means you can identify him, and if he is so stubbornly trying to get you over and over again it means nobody knows him, you are the only threat to him, he is unknown and you need to disappear…urgently" Bella tried to process all the things Aro was telling her.

"So you suggest I grab my bags and leave somewhere else? I don't know…Florida?" Alec shook his head this time.

"He'd still found you Bella" although Alec's voice was sweet and gentle she couldn't stop herself from snapping at him.

"So what the hell are you saying? I don't want to die! I don't want you to find me with a bullet in my head! I didn't ask for this! Please help me…do _something_…" the last words came in a plea. She was telling the truth, she didn't want to die. She wanted to see her niece and nephew grow up, and she wanted to be there when Ben and Angela got another baby if he was able to convince her, like she knew he would be able to. She wanted to be there for her mother, Renee needed her. She'd never been in love, she never left the US, she never did anything reckless, she never had a dream come true, she didn't get to have her own family…she was still so young, she couldn't die. Not yet.

"We will help you Miss Swan. We want to do that and we think there's only one thing you can do for now" she didn't want to speak anymore so she just lift both eyebrows inviting Aro to continue. "You need to enter the Witness Program Protection. We need to make Isabella Marie Swan disappear from the face of the earth until we have this motherfucker behind bars" nothing left Bella's mouth. She didn't know what to say…she didn't know much about the Witness Program Protection, she only can imagine how it operated and it was thanks to Hollywood movies.

"It won't be easy Bella, it's really hard, but we think is your only chance" Alec said not so sweetly and gentle this time, because of the way Isabella had snapped at him before. This time his tone was utterly professional.

"You won't know anyone, you won't be able to tell them anything about yourself, everything that'll leave you mouth will be a lie, you won't be able to talk to your family, you won't be able to tell them where you are, if you are okay, if you are not…You'll feel lonely and scared and you won't have anybody. You'll live completely paranoid thinking the killer could get you anytime; you will live in a house you don't know, in a town you don't know. But you…Miss Swan, will be the safer it can get. And that way Isabella, that way at least you'll be alive" She didn't have to think it twice she just nodded.

_"Okay. I'll do it" _

**_A/N. Hope you enjoy. Follow me on twitter if you want: flyingfeatherss_**

**_-lightfeatherxa_**


	6. Chapter 6

**Everything Twilight belongs to SM.**

**Hey guys, how are you? I hope everything's cool with you. So, here is a new chapter. You'll see things changed...kind of a lot. Well, maybe not that much, but they definitely changed a little. As always thanks so much to those who left a comments, thanks for your advice of what i should do to improve, it means a lot and above all, it helps a lot. Thanks to those who put this story on alert as well as on their favorites. **

**I'll be uploading a new chapter as soon as i can. I have a big fat test next week and I'm freaking out, idk why i thought becoming a lawyer was a good idea...**

**This story has a banner now! yay! i made it myself lol. if you want to go to my blog: it is my username lightfeatherxa and the blogspot thing. There's a link on my profile. I post reccs and pics and idk whatever i feel like. You can find all the pics of Bella's new house there. **

**Okay, that's it. Thank you so much!**

_**P.S. No Beta as always :( **_

**Sixth Chapter**

Melanie Wilcox was born on May the 17th in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. She graduated from Riverdale High School and attended to UCB to get an English degree. She graduated three years later at the age of 22. She worked in Portland, Oregon, as an English teacher for three years until both her parents died in a car accident on their way to JFK to go visit her for thanksgiving. She got depressed, lost her friends in her negativity to continue with life. She has a German shepherd called Merlin and four gold fishes called Albus, Percival, Wulfric and Brian. She is clearly a fan of the Harry Potter saga, although her weaknesses are Jane Austen novels as well as Emily Brontë's. She never quite understood Dostoyevsky although she has a copy of _Crime and Punishment_ that she deeply cherishes. Her favorite days are Sundays because she can stay inside wearing sweat pants and baking all day long. She enjoys watching sports and has a vast knowledge when it comes to soccer. David Beckham is her favorite player for obvious reasons. She listens to Whitesnake constantly and can't help but cry when Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah comes up in the radio, making her sure is the most amazing song ever written. She wishes she was British and wants to travel around Europe with just a backpack before she turns thirty. She laughs too loudly and snorts when something is really funny, she cries when she's extremely mad and she's not scared easily. She has pair of very big, very brown eyes, long shiny chocolate hair and freckles that shows when she doesn't wear make-up, which is often. She loves to wear long sweaters and leggings along with ballerina flats or combat boots. She lives in a new house, in a small town, in the state of Washington called Forks…and she was staring right back at a person that had lost everything she had ever knew.

Bella's reflection in the mirror showed her once again a sad girl, with a face too skinny for her own liking, with almost purple marks under her eyes and her hair tied in a constant messy ponytail. She had been in that house for more than two weeks now. That was two weeks since she last saw everybody she knew, her mom, her sister, Claire and Dalton, Ben…even Jacob. She accepted to change her identity and enter the Witness Program Protection. Now she was Melanie Wilcox and she was the most miserable human being on earth. Officer Vulturi kept her constantly updated through the officer that was helping her with all the new life, Jasper Whitlock, and he had said Mrs. Denali's killer was still on the run. They hadn't tracked anything about him, although there was a chance something might have showed up in the security camera two blocks away from Mrs. Denali's building.

She was bored, she was sad, she felt lonely and above all she was still scared to death. She slept with one eye open, she constantly checked every door was closed, whenever she felt a car passing right outside her house she held her breath and only started breathing again when she knew it was long gone. She spent most of her days cooking; reading, watching TV…even she played with the new dog she had bought called Merlin. He was four month old and was one big beautiful puppy with big brown eyes like hers and a pair of big ears that he always lifted when he was hungry. She needed company, and she was too scared to meet new people. She couldn't be herself, she had to lie to everybody, she had to talk all about memories, and likes, and fears, and passions about a person she didn't know, because it was not her, it was some kind of delusional alter ego that was necessary to have in her life so an obsessive killer didn't get to her and ripped her throat open, or blew her head with a bullet. There was no point in going out; there was no point in trying to start a new life, when all that life was going to be a big lie that hopefully would end soon. She _needed_ it to end soon; she didn't seem to be able to handle living like that forever.

A loud knock came from the front door of the one story house. It was a small place, with red windows and wooden floors. She had redecorated it with some cheap stuff she bought in one of the stops Jasper and her did before they arrived to Forks. The furniture was painted all in white, and it was combined with blue stuff, like pillows, and flowers and dishes. It was welcoming, she felt like it was a nice place, it intended to be safe and she liked that about it. With all of it being white it was luminous and that was something she gladly welcomed, like the big fireplace that was in the main area. The weather was as cold as the North Pole's, there was green everywhere, it rained, it snowed, the sun never came out…she wasn't used to that kind of…depressing weather, but she was dealing with it.

_Kind of…_

Another knock came from the door when she didn't move an inch from the round, white framed mirror that was hanging on the wall. She didn't know who it was and she wasn't sure she wanted to found out.

"Melanie, is Jasper…can you please open the door?" a southern accent bathed those words. She knew it was him. She met Jasper the next day after she woke up at the hospital in New York, he was a handsome man with blonde hair and tormented blue eyes. He barely smiled but something about him made her feel safe, like he was really going to protect her. He apologized a thousand times before they took off from New York to Columbus, Ohio and in that moment she knew why he did it. He felt sorry for her even before he met her. Bella knew Jasper had already done that and he was well aware how horrendous that experience was. He had promised her they were going to find the killer, he joked a little and said he was going to make sure he ended in jail sharing a cell with a couple of rapists. He was the only person Bella communicated with since she had left New York City in a hurry after saying goodbye to her family not knowing when she was going to see them again.

"I'm coming" She announced walking to the door. She looked through the small peep-hole and saw indeed the handsome face of the southern gentleman that was her only friend. "Hey, come in" she invited him. Jasper nodded and came inside the house. The cowboy boots rested next to the front door and his big hat along with his warm jacket hanged inside the little closet at the entrance, as he walked through the place towards the kitchen right behind Bella. "Is everything okay?" she asked a little bit worried turning back and looking at him.

"Yes, everything's fine, don't worry. I was just…thinking maybe you could go out a little bit, not alone I mean with me. I like to go to this bar not too far from here, is always quiet and the owner and his sister are amazing people" Bella started to shook his head as she poured a cup of coffee for Jasper and then one for her.

"I don't feel like going out today…maybe next time" the excuse left her mouth once again. She had lost track of how many times she had said that to Jasper, but she just couldn't do it.

"Bella…you had said that to me too many times to count. What is it? Why don't you want to go out? I promise I'll be by your side the whole time, nothing is going to happen to you, I _promise_" she shook her head one more time.

"Jasper, I'm so sorry I just…I can't" she tried to end the conversation turning her back to him and looking at the pot of coffee that she was still holding. She felt Jasper take a long breath and then let it go slowly. He seemed frustrated with her, he should understand. Big wet tears filled her eyes as her breathing started to accelerate with the strength she was doing to stop herself from crying. She didn't want to push Jasper away; he was the only friend she had. He was a safe person, because he knew who she was, she didn't need to lie to him saying she was Melanie, a girl with a tragic life that loved books.

The sound of Merlin's paws against the wooden floor resonated around the house until she felt him next to her. Bella couldn't fight the small smile that spread across her face as she petted his head.

"Bella…tell me what is it. I promise I won't get mad; I won't force you anymore to leave this house until this whole thing ends if that's what you want, but talk to me. I want to help…I _need_ to help you, and not because I'm the cop making you disappear and monitoring your life so I know the motherfucker that's after you don't get near those big brown eyes, but because we are in this together, and you are my friend now" She turned around one more time and locked eyes with Jasper. He was right…they were friends.

"I don't want to go out because I'm going to meet new people Jasper, and they will want to know things about me, and if I want to make things right I have to lie to them. Everything that will come out of my mouth will be a big fat lie. I don't want people in my life that think I'm a person that I'm not…that I'm a person that actually doesn't exist. I want to tell them that I'm Isabella Swan, that there's a crazy man looking after me to kill me, that I have the most beautiful niece and nephew in the world, that taking care of people that need it is what makes me happy, that I love the color yellow and that eating hot dogs on the fourth of July is probably one of my favorite things to do in this world. But I can't Jazz…I can't and I don't want to go out to become a liar". He nodded and didn't say anything for a minute. Instead he took a sip from his cup and petted Mer that was sitting next to him.

"I know you will have to lie, yes…you can't be Bella Swan. You can't tell them about your family, or your job, or the fact that you witnessed a murder, but you can tell them about your favorite color being yellow, you can talk all you want about the fourth of July. You can still have so many things similar to Melanie's. Not everything has to be a lie. And then…when all of this ends, you'll be able to tell them the whole truth, and they will respect you so much Bella, I promise, it's worth it. It's worth to get to know this people, they are extremely nice, and they'll bring light into your life…a breath of fresh air". Bella thought about it for a minute. Maybe Jasper was right, maybe Bella and Melanie could share their similar story. They had both suffered losses, they both used to be happy…they both used to be in a better place.

"Okay, I will go out…in a little while. I need to shower and get changed. Just leave me the address and I'll meet you there as soon as I finish"

"Don't you want me to wait for you so you don't have to go there on your own?" she shook her head.

"It's okay Jasper. I'm safe here, I didn't move to this small quiet place to still live like this killer is behind my back every time I turn around. I'm safe here; I can go out and live a life. That's the point of moving here…having a life. So, I'll meet you there, okay?" Jasper's hands came up in a gesture of surrender.

"I'll meet you there, don't make me wait sugar…I don't like it" he blinked an eye making Bella laugh right before this turned on her heels and started walking to her bathroom. She was going to take a long bubble bath to relax, and then she was going to dress nicely and put some make up on and then she was going to go to a bar to drink and have fun with a friend.

***AIG***

James was staring back at himself in the old golden mirror. He was still impressed with the work his friend Lauren Mallory had done back in Russia. When he moved there with the CIA breathing on his neck he thought he wasn't going to make it. They were too close; he had just finished killing two high profile politicians from the Italian government. He had made it public, right in the middle of the opening of a contemporary museum that was going to inaugurate with an exhibition of Zdzisław Beksiński's original paintings. What could he say? He loved a little bit of show…_chaos_. He lived for the rush of everybody knowing him somehow. He considered himself an artist, killing like he did it was an art, and he was one of the best at doing it.

Lauren was an old affair, a beautiful blonde woman with infinite legs that desperately wanted to become a surgeon. Behind that gorgeous body and that pretty face there was a also a brilliant brain so when she offered to practice on him, changing his whole face to the point it was barely possible to recognize him, he found himself eternally in debt. He was no longer James Hunter the killer at the top of the '_Wanted_' lists. Now he was Jason Hardman the owner of a pretty decent bar in the beaches of Hawaii, who lived with his pretty wife named Zania and his two gorgeous sons, Ian and Nate. They were one of the most amazing things that ever happened to him, and they were at home with his wife thinking he was in an exclusive family reunion in San Francisco, where they thought he was from.

He was actually from North Carolina.

After everything Lauren did he was free from the cops. Even if they walked right by him they wouldn't recognize him. He was completely out of the radar, impossible to find…until Isabella Swan saw his face. That scary little kitten was instead a feisty tiger ready to fight back. She didn't want to die and she was doing everything in her power to make sure she wasn't going to; he was impressed he was going to give her that. He had been actually so close to kill her…he had followed her since she left her place to go to her niece's birthday, he saw the present she put in the trunk and he was waiting excitedly across the street in a black Chevy until she went out to get it. Just one bullet in the head and everything would be over. He didn't need the rest of the money so the manipulative fucker that had hired him could keep all his fucking fortune to himself and find somebody else to search for that damn Blackberry _he_ so much wanted. When Bella came out, it wasn't just her, the beautiful little girl was with her, and although he couldn't give two shits about people's lives…he would never kill a child. He tried to aim at Bella and he shot three times but he was not sure he actually killed her.

_He didn't._

She died, she never made it outside the hospital…that was the version the police was circling around, and he knew it wasn't true. She was still very much alive. She was hiding somewhere; the police had made her get into the Witness Program Protection. She could be anywhere around the U.S. by that point. It was going to be hard, he was going to actually make an effort to end with that little kitten's life, but he was eventually going to kill her.

"_You can hide but you can't disappear, Bella Bear' _he thought to himself

He had already killed three people in the Witness Program Protection, they were sloppy. Some couldn't keep their mouths shut and they would spit where they were to their family. Some were stupid enough to move out and change their names but still act the same way they used to…like the guy that was obsessed with Thai food; it was a business man that had put his hands in the formula of a new antibiotic. The competition wanted him out. So he tracked him down, he knew he was in Atlanta or close, so for two months he used to sit outside Thai restaurants, until the fat motherfucker showed up for dinner a Tuesday, he didn't make it inside when the contents of his head where spilled all over the sidewalk.

"_I'm coming after you Isabella, you better be ready if you want to breathe after I see your face again_"

***AIG***

Bella walked inside of the bar that Jasper was at to, one and a half hour later since he left her house. She was wearing a white blouse with a blue sweater and a navy warm coat, dark jeans and brown combat boots on her feet. She had blown-dried her hair so it looked soft and shiny flowing free. She had put some make up on, she felt weird with the transparent gloss she had on her lips but at the same time she felt pretty and excited. Jasper was right she needed to meet new people; she needed to live a life and put the one that actually belonged to her in stand-by until Aro and Alec found the killer.

The place was a little dark. The light barely shined above round wooden tables. The walls were painted in a shiny green and the smell of sandal was all around the bar. The place was empty except for the tiny girl sitting next to Jasper in tall chairs at the long bar and what looked like a shy girl in a table at the corner drinking a strawberry daiquiri.

She walked smiling towards Jasper. He was smiling like she had never seen him before as he talked about a fishing trip he did with his dad when he was nine. The girl was concentrated in a notebook in front of her; she was writing desperately not saying anything to Jazz. Bella couldn't help but think that that was rude, she wasn't even looking at him, and it was like she didn't even know he was there. She decided to ignore the situation instead; she didn't want to start putting that tiny disrespectful girl in her place.

"Hey Jazz, I'm here" Bella announced sitting right next to Jasper. This turned his face to her and gave her a big smile.

"Bella, I'm so glad to see, you finally decided to join us. You definitely listened to the part of '_don't make me wait I don't like it_'" Isabella couldn't help but laugh loudly at that. She was actually not that kind of girl that needed three hours to get ready, she was okay with just one, even thirty minutes if that was all she was getting. But she needed that bubble bath…that relaxation time. "What do you want to drink?" he asked.

"Don't you think that's my job to ask Whitlock?" a soft voice came from behind the bar. She turned her face so fast she thought she was going to die for breaking her own neck. A tall guy with crazy brown-reddish hair and disturbingly shiny green eyes was staring right back at her. _He is too thin maybe_ she thought to herself trying to find some sort of not physical appealing part of him.

"Whatever Edward" Jasper waved his hand like trying to make a fly go away and then went back to talking to the tiny girl. _Way to pay me attention_ _Jazz _Bella muttered in her head.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Edward Cullen I own this bar…and you are a new person in Forks. Who are you?" he asked with a velvety voice before extending his hand to Bella. He was weird; she couldn't help but feel that about him. She didn't want to tell him she was Melanie Wilcox, but she was not allowed to say anything else.

"I'm Melanie" was all she said while shaking his hand. Suddenly she felt uncomfortable all over again. She wanted to go back to her house and cuddle with Merlin in the couch as they watch the first season of Sherlock all over again. She couldn't get enough of Benedict Cumberbatch, but she definitely had had enough of socializing with people. She just wasn't ready.

"Nice to meet you Mel. What do you want to drink by the way? …I know Jasper asked, but it is kind of my job and since Forks' population is somewhere between 10 and 15 people I feel like I should take advantage of a new customer and put my bar-man charm to practice" was she supposed to laugh? She found him quirky and little bit weird, even childish and annoying. He wasn't funny; he was making things just awkward. And above all…_what charm_?

"I'll take a diet coke thanks" she couldn't drink alcohol. Aro haven't had put it like that precisely, but he had made it pretty clear. She needed her whole senses working sharply 24/7 she never knew when she may need to run for her life. Edward's left eyebrow rose up and looked at her like she had grown a third head. "What?" she asked a little bit irritated.

"This is a bar…usually people come here to drink…_alcohol_. Please don't tell me you are under twenty one because in that case I'm going to go to the back and cry my eyes out because you can't be just new here, and pretty and interesting and be that young because they are going to probably accuse me of being a pedophile or something" all came out in some sort of rant. What was this man talking about? She couldn't keep up with his way of…functioning. Although…wait? Was he telling her he was somewhat interested? Was he thinking she was going to have something with him? Anything?

Yeah…nope.

"I'm sorry I'm not much of a drinker, in case you don't have diet coke I'll just take water if that's okay" he gave her a smile and turned around to open a diet coke can and pour it into a tall glass. Bella thanked him the moment the glass was in front of her.

"Mel, is this asshole bothering you?" Jasper asked pretending to be threatening Edward with a mean look. This was just shaking his head and smiling, he had a really nice smile. He had really nice genes…he was gorgeous, a little annoying and weird but _gorgeous_.

"Not at all, Edward was just giving me a diet coke" Jasper nodded understanding instantly why she was not drinking alcohol. He looked at the Heineken in front of him and felt a little bad about it. His job was to protect her; he couldn't do it at his best if he was drunk…or almost drunk.

"See? I was being a perfectly nice new friend to Mellie here" Edward said with a saccharine voice to Jasper. This laughed giving Bella a light squeeze in her shoulder.

"I'm glad to hear that Cullen" Jasper said before getting back on his feet. "I'm going to the rest rooms Mel, I'll be right back" she just gave him a forced smile and nodded. "I'll be right back Al" Jasper said to the tiny girl and this, once again, didn't say anything. Bella was actually getting mad at her. What was her problem? Did she really think she was too much to talk to Jasper or something? Maybe she was mad and that was her way to telling him…either way, Bella didn't like Jasper suffering for a girl.

"Mel, will you be here long?" Edward asked resting his forearms on the wooden surface of the long bar. His face was some sort of a work of art, Bella thought to herself. He was extremely gorgeous, something she had never seen. She couldn't help but think what would've happened if she had seen him in New York somewhere, if they have had met there. Maybe she wouldn't be too guarded, and maybe she would actually find him funny and charming, and not weird and childish. Maybe she would've gone out with him if he had asked her and maybe something more could've happened between them. But that was not an option. She reminded herself of the question and nodded.

"Yes, I am. I moved here two weeks ago, I'm trying to get used to it. Especially the weather, it is kind of hard to deal with all this rain and snow so I don't go out much. Jasper insisted now, that's why I'm here" she explained. That hadn't been a lie…_kind of_. She was trying, she was really trying.

"Yes, the weather here is a little bit depressing to say the least, and I can't actually promise you, you'll get used to it. I don't think I will ever will, but we can definitely live under shelter together" Bella felt a little bit taken aback with his comment. Living together…what? Was this man in his right mind? Edward's smile fell at the second he saw her expression. "I don't mean we should live together. I just thought maybe we could hang out some time or something. You, for example, can come to my place and we can watch a movie and eat pizza or something…you know? Not live together, not at all…I mean, _no way!_ No, I didn't mean it like that, it's not that I don't want to live with you, I mean I don't know if I want to live with you, I don't know you, so I don't think we should live together for now, but it's not forever maybe someday. I actually don't know what I'm talking about so you can stop me any minute" Bella didn't recognize herself when a little giggle escaped her mouth. He was awkward then, constantly. Or at least that was the first impression he had made in her and he was probably going to need to work really hard to erase it. "I'm going to the back to bring…more ice. I'll be right back" Bella just nodded and saw him walking away shaking his head and murmuring something like '_you smooth bastard_' to himself.

Her eyes were looking around the place when she found herself once again concentrated in the tiny girl that apparently had some sort of obsession with writing, because she just kept doing it and doing it. Maybe if she talked to her, this girl would stop being so…distant with Jasper.

"Uhm…excuse me, I'm Melanie" tiny girl didn't even acknowledge her presence. Okay, she was definitely irritated. "Are you listening to me? I think it is polite to answer when a person is talking to you" absolutely anything was said after her comment. "Hey!" she exclaimed now really pissed before her hand came in touch with the tiny girl's shoulder. It wasn't a second after her hand felt the soft fabric of the pink sweater when the loudest scream she had ever heard filled her ears. Bella closed her eyes for a second trying to protect herself from the deafening sound. When she opened them again she saw the notebook on the floor, and the tiny girl's mouth wide open as a scream kept coming out of her mouth. Her small frame was shaking like she was suffering from severe hypothermia and she was sure this little girl's pulse was so fast she was going to suffer a heart attack in any second. Bella's face turn when she saw Jasper and Edward both run towards her and the girl that kept on screaming.

"Al, Al…listen to me" Edward tried to say above the noise while shaking the tiny girl hoping her eyes would find his. "Alice it's Edward" nothing, no response, it was like she was about to be murdered and there was nobody there to help her.

"Jazz, I didn't do anything…Jazz I swear I was just talking to her and when I touched her shoulder she just started screaming. I didn't do anything, I swear" she repeated again, although Jasper wasn't precisely listening she was trying to calm the girl that was apparently called Alice, along with Edward. "Please don't scream…I'm so sorry I didn't mean to hurt you" Bella tried to apologize coming closer to Alice and instead the scream intensified enough she was sure the glasses and the bottles were about to break.

"Melanie, just go out please…leave" she froze where she was standing. Edward was asking her to leave, she had just ruined everything, she just…she lost her only chance at making new friends. Maybe she was going to get what she had wanted before, maybe she was going to be completely alone until the NYPD found the killer. Her eyes filled with tears and she felt a sob ripped through her throat.

"I'm _so_ sorry Edward, I didn't mean to…I didn't know" she tried to explain herself.

"Melanie, goddammit just fucking leave!" Bella didn't think about it and just turned around living the bar as fast as she could. She had royally screwed up. She felt more broken than ever, she felt alone and she needed her family, her mom, her sister…_everybody._ She couldn't do it, she couldn't live like that.

_She couldn't live just on her own._

**_Love,_**

**_-lightfeatherxa_**


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Stepehenie...just Stephenie...

A/N Hey youuu guys! How are you?! I hope is all good. Well now I'm excited, very very excited, wanna know why? **I have a Beta now!** Oh-my-gawd. No seriously i know how your eyes probably bled by the time you finished with the chapter, (The Perks of actually speaking Spanish and not english) but they won't anymore. That's all thanks to **Liz AKA Lizzard43** She's been so good and so patient,** I already love you Liz!** She'll be fixing all the mistakes in the previous chapters too, so yeah, I'm happy.

Anyway...I hope you enjoy this chapter, if you do leave your thoughts? and if you don't...leave them anyway! **:)**

Thanks very much to all the ppl who bothered leaving a review or putting this story in their favorites. As always check this story's blog ** .com** and follow me on twitter if you want ** flyingfeatherss.**

Oh, and a big bear hug to **Tinsley Warren** for being awesome and for being my first friend on here. **Love you girl!**

Well that's all. Thank you so much and enjoy.

_**Chapter's song: Alibi - The Strange Familiar (awesome song, thanks PLL)**_

**P.s.** Have you heard the new pope is from Argentina? let's go Arg! ra-ra-ra! haha (I'm from there in case you were wondering why my enthusiasm).

**Seventh Chapter**

Two weeks, that was how long Angela had gone without knowing anything about Bella. She couldn't believe she agreed to it, but then again…it wasn't really her call to make. She knew her sister was in danger; all because of bad timing. Angela was all about fighting back, although it was extremely ridiculous the idea of fighting a well-trained killer, but when things reached Claire that was when she understood how dangerous things had gotten. Her daughter and Dalton were the most important things in her life. She also knew how important they were to Isabella. That was the main reason her sister went away, it was to protect them. She wanted to scream, or break something, but she couldn't do it. She just silently cried as she saw the police officer. Jasper Whitlock escorted Bella outside the hospital to the ambulance, both sitting in the back. The world thought Bella was dead…she wasn't, but it felt like it. She didn't know if her sister was okay, if she had made new friends, she didn't know if Bella was mad, sad, angry, or maybe happy and calm. She wanted to know all those things; it was her duty as an older sister. And she couldn't even tell where in the world Bella was hiding from an extremely dangerous killer.

"This is bullshit! This is so fucked up!" she screamed at the top of her lungs throwing a frying pan that rested on the kitchen counter against the opposite wall. Angela felt her legs giving out before she found herself curled up in a ball against the oven crying over everything that she was going through but especially for what was happening to her sister.

"Angie, baby what's up?" she heard her husband's voice calling worriedly from the front door. His feet raced against the floor and in mere seconds he was sitting next to her holding unto her body for dear life. He didn't pressure her to answer, he knew what was going on, and understood how hard all of this was for Angela.

"I can't deal with this anymore Ben; I can't live without knowing where Bella is, or if she is okay. I need her. I'm her older sister and we're the only family she has. We need to bring her back!" A loud sigh left Ben's lips. She felt like crying even harder, but instead she buried her face in the crook of his neck and tried to calm herself.

"You know how much I love you right?" Ang wasn't quite aware what this had to do with anything but she just nodded. The answer to that question was simple; she knew how much he loved her because she loved him the same way. "I love Bella as much as I love you, only I love her like a sister. I'm extremely torn with this situation baby, I really am. I want Bella with us. I can't stand it when Claire asks where her aunt is, or when Dalton requests Bella's presence at his first soccer game, but staying away is what is keeping her alive. She needs to stay where she is, so when all of this is over she'll be able to be with us as much as we want to be with her." Angela knew he was right, she also knew he wasn't lying when he said he loved Bella as much as he loved her. Bella used to go to their dad, Charlie for everything. He was her best friend. They both understood each other. Something Angela could not always do, so when he died it was like Bella was suddenly alone. Angela was all she had left, and now she didn't even have her. It felt like she was letting her sister down.

"I know Ben…but she's my baby sister. I just…I don't think I can"

"Yes you can, because we have us and she has Jasper, he will take care of her. You need to be strong for her and for us. We need you too Angie." Although she still felt terrible, she let it go and nodded. Ben got up then helped Angela to get up.

"I need to finish with dinner. Is Jake still coming tonight?" Ben nodded. She was okay with Jacob, she knew he had some issues, like drugs, but she was sure deep down inside Jacob was a very nice guy. She also felt like Bella could save him from all the bad things in his life. That's what her little sister did, she saved people. She was able to show them they could do it. Even when Charlie was too weak to stand up, Bella made him feel like he could do it, both things, that he could face what comes after we leave this world and that he could fight a little bit more. She never understood why Bella couldn't stand Jacob, considering she was a very welcoming person to everybody, maybe she was wrong and he was not a good guy and Bella knew that. Or maybe Bella was scared, because she saw something real in Jacob, like he could offer her something she was too scared to accept. After all Bella could always help everybody but it seemed like saving herself was something she couldn't do just yet.

***AIG***

The streets were completely wet. It was still pouring raining but he was used to it. He was walking under it with only a hoodie. He still had one more block to reach his destination: Melanie's house. He couldn't tell what was about her, but suddenly he started behaving like a fifteen year old boy who was too scared to talk to a girl without making it awkward. His rebellious hormones making him sweat like crazy while trying to hide the fact he was hard as a rock. She was probably the prettiest girl he had ever seen. A cascade of chocolate hair, big brown pools for her eyes, rosy cheeks and full lips, and her body? He couldn't even begin to describe her body. Something about her breasts being the perfect size, her hips looking like they were made for him to hold or maybe it was all about her legs, long and lean. Everything, probably that was the answer, everything about Melanie Wilcox was extremely appealing to him. He needed to get to know her; he tried to be charming, although he came across pretty much like a fool. _She laughed one time_ he thought to himself trying to feel better. He had been so caught up in her, he didn't think about telling her all about Alice. It had been a long time since Al had reached that level of breakdown. It took him two hours to calm her down. She just kept screaming and screaming and then it turned into a desperate cry with choking sobs. Alice's tiny frame shaking uncontrollably was something he hadn't gotten used to seeing. He had to calm her down. He felt he was in over his head; Esme was the one who should be doing this, helping him. But she wasn't and Alice was his responsibility.

The beige small house with red shutters came into view. It was the house Jasper had described to him when he begged him for her address. He had to apologize to Melanie for talking to her so rudely, for not telling her about his sister and above all for being a jerk. He walked on the brick path through the front yard until he was standing in front of the door. He was soaked and freezing but he couldn't care less. He just wanted to talk to her. He knocked twice and waited. He could hear her moving inside, but it was like she hadn't heard the door…or maybe like she didn't want to open it. He knocked again and then once more…nothing.

"Melanie; it's Edward Cullen from the bar. I wanted to talk to you for a minute…do you think maybe you could open the door?" His voice shook from being so cold. Another couple of seconds passed until he heard the door being unlocked and then her pretty face was staring right back at him. Her eyes were puffy and red, a clear sign she had been crying, and suddenly he felt even worse.

"Come in, you are gonna catch a cold otherwise" she ordered in a small voice. He couldn't have said no even if he wanted. Instead he just nodded and step inside her house. It was tiny, but it was extremely well decorated. It felt homey and something about it was calming. From the fireplace he could hear the wood creak while burning. There were three pillows, a blue blanket and a book in front of it, obviously indicating Melanie had been there reading. "The bathroom is located in that corner. You can take a shower. I'll bring you some clothes." He tried to say he wasn't precisely expecting to take a shower there, but it was like she had read his mind and interrupted before he could say anything. "You are soaking wet Edward and it's almost cold enough to snow outside, you need to change out of those clothes and warm up your body." It had all came out in a tired tone. He didn't argue and just walked towards the bathroom where she had indicated.

Fifteen minutes later, he was showered and wearing sweat pants that were extremely short for his legs. He also was wearing a baggy t-shirt with a picture of a rabbit wearing glasses and eating a carrot on the front. All the clothes were clearly Melanie's and he felt ridiculous in them, but they smelled like her and he wasn't precisely in a position to contradict her. He walked silently towards the kitchen where he could hear her pouring something. She was standing there with black leggings and a big navy blue sweater, her hair was a mess and she was barefoot. He couldn't help but feel the need to go and hug her, but instead he rested his body against the door frame as he watched her for a minute making them both tea.

"I'd like it with two spoons of sugar, please." The loud scream that left her mouth was something he couldn't have prevented even if he tried. The cup of tea flew from her hand and shattered on the floor spilling the burning liquid everywhere. He saw how some had reached Melanie's feet. "Melanie, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to scare you like that." He quickly walked over to where she was standing; she didn't say anything and started to pick up the pieces of the light blue mug. He wanted to apologize again, and to ask her how he could make it better, but decided against it. He just grabbed a cloth to clean up the tea.

"Don't worry; it's not your fault. I get scared easily," she explained to him. Instead of apologizing to her again he cracked a smile and nodded.

"It's good to know," he joked. She didn't smile or say anything to make him feel better; instead she excused herself and ran to the bathroom. Something was wrong with Melanie. That was the conclusion to which Edward had arrived. She was easily scared and extremely guarded all the time. She was really sensitive and above all she was distant, like she was miles and miles away from him even though they were speaking in the same room. Edward finished cleaning the mess when her footsteps against the wooden floor announced to him she was coming back. Her eyes were even redder and puffier than before, she had cried again. A loud grunt threatened to leave Edward's chest but he stayed put and made a funny motion to the floor. "_Ta-da!_ All clean now"

"Thank you, although you shouldn't have," she said lowly; her eyes darting everywhere around the room except on him.

"Of course I should have, you let me use your shower after all and we don't even know each other. Although…maybe that was your plan all along so you could have me naked in your house," he laughed after this but she didn't. Instead she just grabbed the other mug and handed it to him.

"You said you came here to apologize, you don't have to. I'm the one who should be apologizing for whatever I did to Alice. I can guarantee you it wasn't on purpose, I just touched her shoulder and she started screaming," He knew Melanie hadn't done anything wrong. He was the one to blame.

"No you shouldn't be apologizing because I was the one who forgot to say anything about Ali. She's my sister and has a severe case of autism…when people she doesn't know touch her, well, what you saw is what happens." He could identify the shock in Melanie's face. She really hadn't had any idea that something was wrong with Alice. "I was somewhat…_distracted_ and I forgot to mention it. She's really nice, I'm sure if you meet her again, you are going to like her. Jasper is quite drawn to her; I think she makes him a better person." He wasn't sure why he was telling her all of this, but for some reason he felt the need to speak to her, to let her in immediately. Edward knew Melanie was guarded; she wasn't going to put her defenses down first. He had to show her that she could trust him and from there, they could move forward.

"I would really like to meet her," was all that left Melanie's mouth. A big smile spread on his face. Then he just nodded and waited for her to speak again, but she didn't.

"I'm sure she'll love to meet you too." For the first time since his arriving a small smile tugged on Melanie's lips.

"She's really pretty…I actually thought she was Jasper's girlfriend. That she was mad at him and that was the reason she wasn't talking back to him. I was clearly wrong; I would like to apologize to her too. I feel like I need to start over with her." Edward only nodded. He was suddenly stunned with all the words that had left Melanie's mouth without him trying to draw them out.

"What are you and Jasper by the way? I thought maybe _you_ and him were acouple." Melanie shook her head vigorously. It was clear there was nothing romantic going on between her and Jasper. That idea made Edward breathe a little bit easier. He couldn't precisely tell if anything was going to happen between him and Melanie. And to be honest, he didn't know anything about her; maybe if they talked a little more, he would find himself actually not liking her in that way. But as a first sight thing, he was very interested in her, and he wanted things to happen, even more, it had been so long since he had actually had anything with someone that he _needed_ it to happen.

"No, not at all. Jasper is just a good friend of mine; you know one of those people that stand by you when everything is a complete mess?" Edward nodded. He knew that kind of friend, Leah was something like that to him. She was, after all, the one that was spending the rest of the afternoon with Alice, even with the knowledge that his sister could have another breakdown at any time.

"And when did that mess happen?" the words left his mouth before he could even catch himself. He was probably coming off as a very nosey person. That was her thing, and not his to know, unless of course, she willingly told him.

"I don't really know you Edward Cullen; I think I'm going to keep that information to myself for now." Surprisingly, her voice came out light and a little bit playful. She was neither mad nor offended, but was just amused. He lifted his left hand up, considering he was holding the mug with the right one, and bowed a little in a clear gesture of submission. "Would you like to sit? I baked honey and chocolate chips cookies yesterday, can I offer you some?" She asked motioning for him to take a seat at her small kitchen table.

"You just can't offer, you must feed me now woman. Do you know how long it has been since I ate anything homemade?" he asked faking indignation. Another small smile appeared on her face making him feel like he needed to make that happen at least one more time. She put some cookies on a light blue polka dotted plate and placed it in front of him on the table. Edward didn't even think twice about it before grabbing one and shoving it inside his mouth. A loud moan left his throat, it was just _so_ good, and it had been so long since the last time he had ate anything so tasty. "This is so good Mel!" he tried to speak with his mouth full, pointing to the food. Food that he was sure she could see him chewing inside his mouth. _I'm one classy motherfucker_ he thought to himself not actually caring.

"You are something else Edward Cullen, aren't you?" she asked actually looking stunned. Like there was some sort of battle going on in her head. He didn't understand her; he just knew _she_ was special. He just shrugged like a little kid before taking a sip of his tea. "Merlin, C'mere!" she exclaimed. For a second Edward was sure she had lost it. Maybe that was her deal; she still believed in imaginary friends and baked cookies for fictional characters. But then the clear noise of paws against the floor filled the house right before a funny looking puppy entered the kitchen. It looked like he had been sleeping. He moved slowly and swayed from one side to another in a groggy manner.

"Hey there buddy, are you still sleepy?" Edward asked reaching his hand down and scratching Merlin behind his ears.

"If you keep doing that he won't leave you alone." Melanie warned him. He couldn't care less, he loved animals, and if Merlin being obsessed with him was the price to pay to have some sort of friendship with Melanie then he was more than willing to pay it. "Don't tell me I didn't warn you."

"I promise I won't." He assured her smiling. She barely returned the gesture before opening a can with Merlin's food and putting it in his bowl. The dog left his side and walked a little bit faster than he had been, to eat. There was something about Melanie Wilcox…he couldn't quite tell what it was but he was going to make it his mission have her in his life. It didn't quite matter if she wanted it or not, he could be extremely persistent when he put his mind to it.

***AIG***

Aro Vulturi walked into the station ready to break the nose of whoever got in his way. Mad wasn't enough to describe the state he was in at that moment. He was furious, he wanted to burn the whole building down and even then he wouldn't feel better. Someone had stolen from him right from under his nose. How could that happen? It was a motherfucking police station for Christ's sake! Shit like robbing should not occur in a place like that. A police station should be exempt from things being stolen. It should have been a safe haven, considering what the officers had to deal with out on the streets.

_Oh he had been wrong…_

"Alec come here right fucking now!" he screamed passing next to Siobhan, a red headed police officer that was into white collar shit. He could care less, she was an annoying, phony and completely irrational when it came to what he did and didn't do. Like when he took the last bit of coffee from the coffee pot; she screamed at him so loudly for more than five minutes that someone actually threatened to cuff them both if they didn't shut up. He hadn't even opened his mouth; it was like psycho bitch could handle everybody else in the office having coffee except him. He closed the door with a loud 'bang' behind him before walking to his chair and plopping his body there.

Of course it was Isabella's case. That case had somehow presented like one of those cases that could make a police officer's career. At first, he had thought she was somewhat guilty, maybe she wanted Mrs. Denali's fortune, but then the fucker that had killed the poor woman was after her. And even though she tried not to show how scared she was, he could see she was terrified. She had that look on her face, the look that the victims show when they know they can't run away. He wasn't sure who the person that was after her was, but he had a feeling. Although not a single sketch match someone he knew, he could feel it in his gut that the killer was very familiar. It wasn't like criminals couldn't alter their physical appearance so much that they couldn't recognize them; needing a sample of their blood would be the only way to identify them.

If only he could get a sample of this bastard's blood…he knew he wouldn't be surprised.

He had seen a little bit of him. The killer looked somewhat in his late thirties or maybe his early forties. He was tall and lean, although there was some muscular training there; he looked like your average Joe, which was the worst part. No tattoos, no scars, no marks, not anything. He got copies of the security camera's footage from Mrs. Denali's building and from a couple of blocks away. The cocky motherfucker had walked out of the building right through the front door. He knew what was he doing and he was confident enough to risk meeting half NYPD outside the place. He was confident he wouldn't be recognized.

_Who the fuck are you? How did you use to look?_ Aro thought to himself feeling the rage filling his body once again.

"Aro, what's up?" Alec, his partner asked while entering his office. Alec was a young guy, but he was determined, he was bright and sharp and Aro couldn't complain about anything when it came to him. The only thing he wasn't quite fond of was how soft Alec could be. He didn't see the bad in people, just the good. And most people can't even remember what it is like being good.

"Who did it?" The shock in Alec's face let him know he wasn't even aware of what was going on. "Alec for fuck's sake, _be_ here. I need you man," he protested.

"Hey! You know I'm here, I'm one hundred percent trying to catch Mrs. Denali's killer. I like Isabella you know? I want her to be safe and back here." Those were some dangerous words. Aro found himself worried for a minute. Alec could not be attracted to Isabella Swan in any way…that would threaten the whole investigation, and above all that would end up threatening his own life. Still, he decided to let it go for a while, at least until he cleared up what was going on.

"The security camera's tapes are gone. Everything, the tapes, the backup copies, our notes on the investigation, everything! Where the fuck is all this shit Alec? It's like we are back to square one, because some son of a bitch got inside this police station and stole everything right from under our noses." Aro saw Alec compose himself before clearing his throat and saying the words he didn't even dare to think.

"What if one of our own took that stuff?" Aro knew that was more than probable. How was he going to tell Isabella Swan, she better grow to be fond of the idea of being Melanie Wilcox, because it seemed like they had a long way to go before this would be over.

**Thanks,**

**-Lightfeatherxa**


	8. Chapter 8

******twilight belongs to S.F. duh!**

**A/N**

Hey guys...I'm **so sorry** for the delay it's just my amazing beta **Lizzard43** had some personal stuff to deal with. I still can't believe she actually beta'd this chapter, she's seriously the best. **Love you Liz!** Hopefully things will get back to normal and i'll be able to update faster. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it is kind of a fun one for me, but probably not fun in the way you think. In the next chapter there will be some serious quality time between B/E. Hopefully you'll like that.

Song**- Garbage - Control**

**Eighth Chapter**

"Are you ready ladies? The car is here," Ben asked Angela and Renee. The first one was finishing with her mother's make up. Both were dressed in beautiful long gowns. Angela's was in an emerald green one while Renee's was ocean blue. It seemed that just like her sister, blue was the suitable color for her mother. They were all going to this gigantic socialite party, where Billy Black was going to present the design of his newest Resort & Casino in Vegas. They were all invited not only because Jacob and Ben were close friends since they were young, but because Billy was going to announce that the slots machines used in New Moon Resort & Casino were from Ben's company. The deal landed Angela's husband an astronomical amount of money, which was part of the reason why both her mother and she were wearing Oscar de la Renta.

"Yes, we are ready. And you?" Angela playfully asked Ben while trying to keep a straight face. He was clearly ready; wearing a black tie and tuxedo, with his hair perfectly coated with gel. She couldn't help but think he looked like a handsome man from the twenties, and that she was the luckiest girl at the ball. At the end of the night, she was going to let him know just how much she was in love with him. It still felt like the first day, and Angela was absolutely sure those feelings were never going to go away. He was everything to her.

"Don't mock me woman, I'm extremely uncomfortable right now. I can't wait to put on a beater and sweats as soon as we get back," Ben complained while putting his hand gently on Angela's back guiding her through their living room to the black BMW that was parked out front, courtesy of the Black's. Angela '_tsked_' three times while slowly shaking her head. A small smile appeared on her face as she ran her lips near her husband's ear.

"I don't think you'll be wearing anything when we get back," she whispered seductively in Ben's ear. A low grunt left his chest before pressing her against him lovingly.

"You can be mean when you want to, Angie." he pretended to be hurt, but it only caused a big loud laugh to leave Angela's mouth.

**-AIG-**

The car drive was quiet. They were discussing how big the party was going to be. They really had no idea, but considering where it was being held, it was clear it would be big. The car parked at the corner of 5th Ave and 59th St. just outside the magnificent entrance of the Eclipse Hotel, which was also owned by Billy Black. It had been the first place he built when he was twenty two. Some people said he pulled off a big con on a car dealership, although that was more of an urban legend. Nobody knew how he managed to build that place when his father barely made enough money and his mother was deathly ill. The official version said he started buying ten dollars stocks from a cosmetic company, that later turned into a well-known worldwide brand that sold every kind of cosmetic around the world. The stocks went from 5 cents each to 20 thousand dollars. Apparently that was how Billy Black had made it. He was one extremely smart man; he had some sort of southern charm and the mind of a brilliant business man, so it was neither impossible nor improbable. He had been smart enough to sell the stocks of Bree Beauty's right before the value dropped down to the starting point, it seemed like they were back to square one, five cents per stock.

Renee was walking in front of Ben and Angela, who were holding hands, as they walked across the fancy red carpet that led from the sidewalk to the front door. The hotel was something out of this world. The whole classic Victorian decoration combined with modern touches that somehow made it look even more astonishing. Angela let her eyes roamed the lobby. The shiny wood floor sparkled to a point she could actually see her reflection, the walls were deep blue, and the ceiling shinning white. There were old-fashioned lamps hanging from the walls, Angela wasn't precisely sure, but she had counted more than one hundred of them. Very expensive original pieces of art decorated the walls with the most exquisite taste and the colors magically matched the burgundy velvet couches that were set in the center of the big room along with a beautifully carved mahogany coffee table. If she walked to the right she would have found herself in the hotel's bar, she barely could see anything of the barfrom from where she stood, besides she had to walk to the left, where the party was taking place in the events room.

"Good evening, may I have your names, please?" A tall man with a heart shaped face, black eyes and long black hair asked politely. He looked a little bit tired, but not because he was sleepy, more like he was sick and tired of dealing with his job.

"Yes, Swan and…." Ben couldn't even finish when a worried expression appeared on the man face after they mentioned their name.

"Of course, I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you. Mr. Black has been eager to have you all here, please allow me to escort you to the events room." Angela along with Renee and Ben just nodded and started to walk behind the polite man wearing an Armani suit. She felt like a princess, because the whole place looked like a castle and she was dressed so nicely it; was like something Cinderella might wear, for a moment it felt like everything was okay. Just for a moment, because it was completely impossible for her to get used to the fact that her sister was in hiding from a killer somewhere in the United Stated and she didn't know any details about her.

"Isn't this fancy, Angie?" Angela heard her mother ask her in a whisper giving her a small smile. "If your father was still alive, he would have been so grumpy right now. He hated fancy things and luxury."

A small smile escaped Angela's lips at the thought of her father being there. He was such a simple man, just beer, sports, going fishing whenever he could and visiting museums with Bella on his day off. Those were the things he loved.

The man reached the entrance of the room and took a breath before opening the big wooden double doors revealing the most amazing place Angela had ever seen. It was gigantic, with beautiful carpeted floor and dazzling colorful vitrós in the walls and even the ceiling. There were round tables decorated with white silk tablecloths and silk covered chairs. In the middle of every table was a set of candles which shined enough to dimly light the whole place. People, who were wearing extremely expensive dresses and tuxedos, where scattered around the room talking to each other. The place where most people were congregated was near Billy Black, who was next to the miniature building he had plan to start building next week.

"Please, enjoy the evening and don't hesitate to let Mr. Black know you are here." hey all nodded as the tall man made his exit. Angela tried to take a second to absorb the whole situation, the whole place and where she was when her sister was god knows where doing god knows what. Well…she could actually tell what she was doing: _surviving_.

"This place is amazing, I would have never imagined coming to a party like this," Angela said in a small voice, feeling quite shy. Ben gave her hand a light squeeze, while a big smile appeared on his face.

"It took me sixty years to get to come to a party like this sweetie, you are lucky," Renee said admiring the whole place.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome! How is my favorite family?" A tipsy Jacob approached them with a goofy smile on his face. Angela actually thought he was on something, maybe cocaine; maybe he was just high from a regular joint. She just hoped he was not doing that expensive, extremely destructive thing that Ben had told her about finding in the jacket Jacob had lent him once.

"How are you tonight Jake?" Angela asked giving him a kiss on the cheek and a reprimanding look, making Jacob pout.

"Why the disapproving look Ang? I'm fine you know, just having some fun." She just laughed before punching him slightly in his big muscular bicep.

"Definitely having fun with the open bar," Ben nudged him.

"Don't do anything stupid, Jacob." Renee said patting him on the cheek before starting to walk towards the place where Billy Black was talking to a couple consisting of a sixty year old big bald man and a skinny blonde dignified woman thirty years younger.

"What is wrong with you women? Just because a young, handsome man like myself is enjoying a dreadful evening with his annoying father doesn't mean I'm going to do anything stupid," Jake complained making both Angela and Ben laugh. "Hey Angie…how are you doing? I wasn't quite sure you'd be ready to go out, Renee either." Every cell was instantly on complete alert. She needed to lie; she needed to do everything in her power to help her sister. The smile on her face fell alongside with Ben's, who suddenly tensed beside her.

"It's hard Jake, really hard. I can't tell you how much I miss her, but I know she is where she has to be. I know she is going to find happiness there, because that's what she does, she finds a way to be happy and that's the only thing that keeps me going in this world." It wasn't a lie at all. The only thing was that Jacob thought she was talking about Bella being in heaven, as she talked about Bella being somewhere in this world, far away.

"She's with your dad; I bet they are having a good time." Although if Bella were dead she would actually be having an amazing time with Charlie, but the thought of her being gone made Angela's whole body shake violently. Ben noticed and began to speak.

"We just…survive Jake." Angela noticed how a painful look invaded Jacob's eyes and she couldn't help but feel bad for him. He used to be completely smitten by Bella and now he thought she was dead. It was probably even harder for him then it was for her at the moment.

"Good evening, May I ask you who they are Jake?" A feminine voice with a dangerous vibe appeared in front of Angela and Ben right next to Jacob. She could see how he tensed immediately before faking a smile and point at the tall red haired woman next to him.

"Victoria James, these are Ben and Angela, very good friends of mine, almost family." An amused expression crossed her face before she extended her hand first to Angela and then to Ben, spending a particular long moment with the last one. Angela definitely didn't like her.

"So…are you Angela Swan, the adorable Bella Swan's sister? You have a thing for her Jakie, don't deny it. How is she? I'm intrigued; I want to her meet her. I want to know what's so interesting about her that it has my boy here drooling." Now Angela not only didn't like her, she felt like she could almost hate her. She barely knew her, but the peevish tone the model look-alike used was between mocking and accusatory, like Bella had done something wrong. Or maybe it was like Victoria was jealous of Angela's sister and couldn't stand her, just like Angela couldn't stand Victoria.

"She actually passed away a couple of weeks ago. She was attacked outside our house before our daughter's birthday party had begun. A guy drove by in a car and shot her. She didn't make it." The words left Angela's mouth with such credibility she didn't even recognize herself as the one speaking. Something she shared with Bella was that they both were terrible liars, like Charlie. Renee on the other hand could deceive more than one whenever she wanted.

"That's terrible news, I'm so sorry…I didn't know. I need to tell a friend, he knew her, where's…Jason!" Angela saw a tall man in his late thirties; maybe his early forties turn around. He was wearing a black tux with a silk blue bow tie that matched a pair of big, deep blue eyes. A bad feeling invaded her body when she saw the man. She had never seen him before, she didn't know anything about him, but it didn't look like the kind of man that Bella would know. He looked like the kind of man that hung out with Victoria and Jacob; does expensive drugs and throw thousands at the casino, just because he was bored. He looked dangerous and mysterious, but not mysterious in a good way, just…in a way he had too many secrets to tell, and if he told them he would have to kill you. Shut you up so he could keep living somehow.

"Vicky, what is it?" he asked worried at the look on Victoria's face. It was like she still didn't believe it. Angela couldn't help but think how she dared, how she had the decency to show that expression in front of the sister of the girl who had allegedly just died. "Is it something wrong?"

"Jason, this is Angela and Ben, she is Bella's sister," Victoria explained pointing at Ben and Angela but not actually looking at them. Her eyes were lost in this mysterious man's eyes, just like everybody else's.

"Is that so? How is Bells? It's been almost a month since the last time I talked to her. She was extremely sad because of Carmen Denali's death, she told me about escaping the killer. It was something that Bella did well, escape, she's a fighter, one smart little thing." His voice sounded happy when he mentioned Angela's sister, and this couldn't quite process what was going on. He sounded like he knew her, and unlike Victoria, he sounded like he really like her. Angela suddenly felt bad for judging him, and above all she felt bad for what he was about to hear.

"She's dead Jason; someone shot her a couple of weeks ago," Victoria said slowly giving a movie drama kind of vibe to the revelation. Jason's face changed immediately to a disbelief, right before reaching pain.

"What? That's not funny Vicky, what do you mean Bells is dead?" Angela swallowed the lump that formed in her throat and nodded. Jason seemed devastated and she couldn't handle it anymore.

"I'm sorry, I need to go to the ladies room right now, I'll be right back." The last part was whispered directly to Ben who nodded giving her an understanding expression. She managed to form a small smile with her lips and walked across the big room towards the ladies room.

After walking through a lot of people who were very animatedly drinking champagne and talking with each other about their favorite spots in Sagaponack, she reached the ladies room. Like the rest of the hotel it looked luxurious. Stainless silver, gigantic mirrors, shiny wooden bathroom stalls. This time she couldn't care less, she didn't want to pay attention to it. She just needed to clear her head; stop thinking about her sister being away, much less dead. Angela knew Bella was with Jasper, and she knew he was going to take very good care of her sister. But that didn't make it any easier.

"Are you okay?" A tall beautiful woman with shiny blonde hair and an extremely expensive lacy black dress asked politely. They were the only ones in the room, although considering all the people outside; it was a matter of seconds before someone else came inside. Angela kept silent staring at her, she knew it was rude and definitely creepy, but nothing came out of her mouth. "I'm Heidi, I'm sorry if I'm coming across as nosy, but you just looked lost." Angela nodded instantly before giving her a small smile.

"I'm sorry. I'm okay, thank you; I just needed to take a break from all the people outside." Heidi smiled before squeezing Angela's hand in a comforting manner.

"Come find me if you need me, okay?" Angela thanked her one more time before Heidi left the bathroom. In the moment Angela found herself alone a loud sob left her mouth, she couldn't have a meltdown there, but it was too much. How could she possibly be able to handle telling the world her sister was dead? Bella was not dead; Bella was a victim of fate and sick people. The face in the mirror showed her a broken person, she wondered if people could see it when they looked at her, or was she good enough to hide it. The sound of the door opening made her concentrate on the faucet, turning it on to clean her eyes and cheeks. She didn't even dare look at the person that came into the room, it was too mortifying and she couldn't even fathom explaining to someone else what was going on.

The surprise came when she felt an arm wrapped around her stomach and a hand press over her mouth. She didn't even think about fighting back when whoever it was that was behind her press her against him; because it felt like a '_him_', much taller than her and built with muscle. The person turned her around only letting her see a glimpse of a tux, before he smashed her head against the wooden door of a bathroom stall. She tried her best to get away from him. She tried to kick him and shake enough to squeeze from under his grasp, but she couldn't even move an inch away from him.

"Angela, oh Angela," a smooth, deep low voice sounded right next to her ear. It was like a whisper. This person knew who she was. What did he want? Tears filled her eyes and the sound of little whimpers came from under his hand. "Oh, shut up bitch, Bella never cried and she was in actual trouble." Bella? Why was this man talking about her sister? Suddenly she didn't feel like crying but like fighting harder. She tried to move her legs, pull away from him, but still using all her strength she couldn't do it. "You may be wondering who am I, but I guess you can guess, huh?" The sound of a sardonic voice filled her ear before he smashed her face against the bathroom stall one more time. A sharp pain spread from her cheekbones to the spot of her jaw under her ear. It hurt severely. "Angie, I just want you to tell me where _Bella bear_ is. I want to say hello to her you know? ...we are almost BFFs." Angela couldn't help but wondered when it would be over. She didn't care if he killed her or not, she just wanted it to be over. The scent of sandal wood and Ralph Lauren filled her nose and she made a mental note to remember that, it was important, it could be a clue. Maybe she was thinking nonsense, but she didn't know what to do at the moment, she wasn't precisely in a position where she could easily think clearly. "Where is Bella? If you think, I, for a minute, believe she is dead you are even more stupid than I thought, just tell me where she is and I'll leave you all alone. You, your dreamy husband, your lunatic mother, and above all the pretty princess and the little Lampard you have at home." Panic rose in Angela's body. Messing with her was one thing, but with Dalton and Claire? That was…no! She couldn't even think about them getting hurt. "_Shh_…don't worry, just tell me where Bella is. Don't scream or I swear I'll kill you and then your children. I'll leave your husband alive to suffer like no other mortal in this world." Angela felt his hand lift the pressure from her mouth and suddenly she could speak again, and although it meant putting her sister at risk again she couldn't help but think about Dalton and Claire, so making her soul break into a million pieces she opened her mouth.

"I don't really know"

Now he knew _for sure_ Bella was still alive.

**-AIG-**

"Ow!" Bella exclaimed when her bare thumb touched the burning hot tray. She was finishing up with the oatmeal cookies she decided to bake for Jasper. He had come to talk a little bit with her before it was finally time to talk to _Angela_ again. The police had been working on the security system, untraceable codes and all complicated stuff, that was necessary so she could speak to the people back at home once every three weeks for five minutes. Jasper had already set up the delicate technology all over her coffee table and now he was sitting on her sofa drinking coffee and watching the Shark's game.

"Please Bell; do not harm yourself right before we call your sister. She probably wants to know I'm not hitting you, or using you as a minion," Jasper said in a light tone. Bella couldn't help but smile at him. The simple idea of the only person she trusted in this world, apart from her family, treating her bad was something she couldn't conceive even in an imaginary world. He had been so nice to her, so patient. Jasper insisted on her relying on Edward a little bit more, but Bella couldn't even fathom the idea of spending more than an hour with the bartender every once in a while. He was funny and extremely handsome, but he seemed volatile, and impossible to take anything seriously, well…except his sister. For all Jasper had told her, Edward had been doing an amazing job with Alice. She was his priority and he did anything within his reach to make her happy. That was impressive and above all moving, not all the men dared taking care of someone so special like Alice, much less when they are still young enough to put them into the category of '_he still has his whole life ahead of him_'. "Although maybe you are my minion, better yet, my slave, personal chef." Bella wasn't even listening to Jasper, her mind was drifting through thoughts of what she was going to tell her sister. She only had five minutes, and it's been more than a month since the last time they talked, and it had been at the hospital arranging details of her fake death.

"Jazz…what should I tell Ang? I don't want to speak too much. But I don't want to regret not mentioning something to make her feel better." Bella walked with a plate full of warm cookies in one hand and a glass of milk with honey in the other. Jasper sat straight up on the sofa and now his expression wasn't so relaxed or playful anymore.

"You know you can't tell her anything about who you are here, you can't tell her where you are, or how your life is. You can't ask extremely personal information, you can't break down, and above all you can't expose yourself, Bella. Ask her about the children, questions have to be like that. You can't ask things like _'How's my princess Claire?_" okay? That's too personal, and particular. This is the most secure equipment you could find, we are sure no one can trace this call, much less listen to it, and Angela will communicate from a phone more than two hundred miles away from her home, but still we can't risk it, okay?" Bella nodded, lost once again in her game plan of what to ask, and what not to. She didn't want to blow it. "I'm serious Bella!" Jasper snapped at her loudly making her mind leave the train of thoughts; she looked at him a little bit confused and tired. "If you ruin this, if you give too much, it's you that's gonna have to move to a new place, you won't be regarded with the privilege of talking to your family and I can assure you, the cops in the _WPP_ aren't precisely _nice_ people"

"I won't Jasper. I promise," she assured him. He nodded before lifting his head and looking the clock hanging on the wall. Aro had sent Jasper the calling schedule more than three weeks ago. They had been planning this for a while, it was sort of a prize for Bella for all the effort she had been putting into the situation. Not many witnesses could call home; most of them could spend three years in hiding and not share a single word with their loved ones. They had to call at precisely four o'clock. Currently it was three fifty seven. Jasper extended the phone to Bella right before he started typing some numbers in the computer he had in front of him. A loud noise came from what looked like a tiny monitor that only showed lights dancing from one side to the other.

"Get ready Bella, I'm calling in ten, nine, eight…" Panic rose in Bella's body, but instead of let it show she just agreed with herself she was going to ask about the children, and how the husband and Angela were. She will say she still loved them all and that there was a special place in her heart for her mom, and she would assure them she was more than okay. She was probably going to say something like '_life's good here. Fun._' And that would be it. "Three, two, one!" in the same second Jasper said one she heard the beeping tone of the line working. It was calling; she was actually going to speak to them. The biggest smile appeared on her face, although it didn't last long.

"Good evening Bella Bear, how is it going wherever you are?" A low voice with a raspy edge made her whole body go numb. She was frozen in place, she couldn't move, she couldn't think, she couldn't articulate a single word.

"Bella, you only have four minutes and thirty seconds, speak to them!" Jasper tried to bring her back, but she couldn't think. She couldn't understand how. So that was what came out of her mouth.

"How?" He laughed; the killer laughed oh so loudly; she felt like curling herself in a ball and waiting for him to go away, to just end her life and her misery.

"It doesn't matter. I'm smart. And you are elusive, congrats baby!" He cheered in fake sentiment.

"Where are they? Are they okay?" She murmured; she could see Jasper expression turning into a severe one. Bella could see he was thinking something was wrong, but she needed to know if her family was okay before Jasper ended the communication.

"I don't know. I guess so…I mean, it's not like I would hurt anyone, right? Oh wait, that old bitch Carmen Denali kind of turned out to be a little hurt after our little chat. So…How can I assure you of anything Bells? Maybe they are hurt, maybe they are not. Why don't you come out, come out from wherever you are baby bear and we can have a little chat? If you do that I can guarantee I won't proceed with my current plans." She tried to think straight but all she managed to do was scream, loud, extremely loud, before throwing the phone away and starting to pull at her own hair.

"Make it stop! Make it stop! Please, please just make it stop! Make it go away! I can't! I can't I can't I can't!" Another scream left her mouth before dissolving into desperate crying and hair pulling. She needed to make it go away.

"Bella stop, Bella stop you are hurting yourself." Jasper was right she could feel her nails pressing against her head and although she couldn't see, the feeling of a warm liquid running from her hair to her cheek let her know she was bleeding. She couldn't stop though, and she didn't want to. "Bella for Christ's sake stop it now!" Jasper shouted too loud she thought maybe some permanent ear damaged would be her new condition, but even then she couldn't stop.

"Make it go away now!" she screamed again. Her hands were no longer on her head but held together with the force of someone else. Her feet were under Jasper's knees and those baby blue eyes that she had found so comforting more than once were looking straight into hers. It was her cue to get it off of her chest.

_"It was him. He's going after them." _

**A/N **

Guys, in case you don't know **what vitrós are**, they are those pretty colorful windows with some shapes and stuff that you can see specially in church with the images of Jesus or angels or whatever.

If you suddenly don't know who a certain new worried character is go check **chapter 5**, someone explains us something about who that is. :')

If you want follow me on twitter (** Flyingfeatherss**)

Thanks so much! :)


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